Gwinnett County Commission approves flat property tax rate on 3-2 vote

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday barely approved a flat property tax rate on a divided vote.

The commission voted 3-2 to levy several different property tax rates, all unchanged from recent years. The combined total for residents of unincorporated Gwinnett remains 14.71 mills. A mill represents $1 of tax liability for each $1,000 of assessed value for a property.

The largest tax rate, which provides revenue to the general fund, remains 6.95 mills. The county could have collected the same revenue as last year with a general fund tax rate of 6.5 mills.

District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden, a Democrat, and District 4 Commissioner Matthew Holtkamp, a Republican, were the dissenting votes. The three commissioners in the majority were all Democrats.

Although assessed values continue to rise, most homeowners will not pay more to the county government because they have the “value offset exemption,” which freezes the taxable value on the first Jan. 1 that a homeowner lives in the home.

The value offset exemption does not apply to school or city taxes. Many homeowners will receive higher tax bills due to school taxes, according to sample tax bills the county presented Tuesday. The Gwinnett County Board of Education set its tax rates earlier this month.

The value offset exemption also does not apply to commercial or rental properties.

“Inflation has impacted everybody, including local government,” county commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said in a statement. “Holding the rate steady means we’re able to continue delivering the superior government services residents rely on without homeowners who benefit from the value offset exemption paying more this year.”

Carden said he represents a number of the community improvement districts in Gwinnett and hears complaints from small business owners, especially in the lower-income Norcross area, about rising taxes.

“I understand and respect the concerns laid out by the chairwoman, but at the end of the day, there’s a significant amount of Gwinnettians facing hardship,” said Carden, who has voted against the millage rate for the past two years and made similar statements.

Holtkamp did not immediately return a message seeking comment but has spoken in favor of property tax relief since his successful 2022 campaign.

Only one resident spoke during the third and final hearing Tuesday morning on tax rates: Tim Le of Peachtree Corners, a Republican running against Carden in the November elections. Le also complained about the impact of rising assessments on commercial property owners and renters.

“The renters are struggling,” he said. “We re seeing them not be able to pay the rents. They’re living check by check and a lot of times we try to work with them, try to keep them in the homes as long as we can. We try to make arrangements so that they can catch up with the rent but it’s getting very difficult and I’m very concerned.”

Apart from the general fund, the county levies separate taxes for fire and emergency medical services; police; recreation; development and code enforcement; and economic development. Residents of some cities do not pay some of the smaller taxes.

The Gwinnett tax commissioner’s office is expected to mail property tax bills next month. Payments are due in October.

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