The Buckhead Community Improvement District will keep its tax rate at 3 mills and will spend $11,000 to audit its collections, especially from mixed-use developments.
The board of the self-taxing group of commercial properties made the decisions at its July 24 meeting at Tower Place 100. The BCID spends the money on improvements related to transportation, public safety and beautification in the neighborhood’s central business district.
The millage has remained unchanged in the BCID’s 20-year history. This fiscal year, it is projected to raise as much as $7.6 million. But, BCID Executive Director Jim Durrett said, projections are always too high due to successful tax appeals. The 2018 estimate was about $7.1 million and actual revenue about $6 million, he said.
The $11,000 auditing and analysis contract went to the consulting firm UrbanTrans North America. UrbanTrans will determine which parcels should be in the self-taxing district, and will specifically analyze mixed-use sites to make sure the commercial component is paying the correct share.
Lynn Rainey, the BCID’s attorney, told the board that the result could be an increase in revenue or a loss. “It could go either way, but the question is fairness,” he said.
Rainey also said the BCID has had “properties mysteriously fallen on and off” its tax rolls as reported by Fulton County assessors, so the audit will give a baseline for any appeals as well.