FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Flowery Branch City Council voted unanimously to roll back the city's property tax millage rate at its meeting Thursday evening.
Council members agreed to roll back the millage rate by .073 mills from 3.337 to 3.264, which will lower most citizens' property tax rate. The number represents a full rollback, according to City Finance Director Jeremy Perry.
The rate had been set at 3.337 in Fiscal Year 2015 and was kept there for 2016, however disappointing property assessments left the city with less revenue than expected.
New assessments show increased property values in the area, allowing the city to roll back the millage rate while still staying revenue-neutral in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget which goes into effect on July 1.
City Council will vote June 16 on the resolution to adopt the new budget, voting at the same time on the ordinance to adopt the rolled back millage rate.
Multi-family senior living center approved
The council also voted in favor of a new multi-family senior affordable-living center on East Main Street at the meeting.
The center, which was in its second hearing after being brought to the council in May, was approved with a 4-1 vote. Councilman Joe Anglin was the only vote against the development.
The proposed 60-unit complex would sit on just over 7 acres and house low-income residents over the age of 55. Anglin, who expressed concerns about the center at the initial hearing, said he didn't feel the development offered enough benefits to the city.
"Right now I just don't see anything advantageous to make me feel like 'boy this is going to spur growth,'" Anglin said.
Anglin was not the only person with concerns about the center. Scott Sturgill, who lives near the proposed development, said he's concerned about the traffic impact on East Main Street.
"Whenever we look at the traffic study, one of the things I find interesting about it is East Main Street isn't mentioned on here," Sturgill said, referencing a traffic survey that showed traffic impact on surrounding roads like nearby Phil Niekro Boulevard. "They're all on Main Street...that's where those cars are originating or going to or from."
Councilman Christopher Mundy said he had similar concerns, but was assured by surveys into the center's potential impact that the problems would be minimal.
"My biggest concerns were traffic and conditions of the existing road," Mundy said. "After getting all the reports back, I think that kind of calmed my fears a little bit."
Developer Mitchell Davenport said work on the complex could start as soon as late December or early January.
