Photo obtained via the city of Avondale Estates website.

Avondale Estates City Commissioners have reconsidered keeping the city’s millage rate at 10.95 mills as residents have opened their tax bills to discover a dramatic increase in property values.

Decatur and Avondale Estates were both expecting an increase in their overall tax digest of about 20 percent. Decatur’s School Board and City Commission lowered millage rates to offset the tax increase.

Mayor Jonathan Elmore said commissioners determined during a special called meeting on July 1 that it would be “prudent” to do the same. Avondale’s Commissioners reduced the millage rate from 10.957 to 9.957, which is still technically a 5.8 percent tax increase for property owners. If the millage rate remained the same, it would’ve been an 18 percent increase.

“The Board believed the prudent decision would be to lower the millage to offer tax relief to Avondale Estates residents, while meeting the City’s budget needs,” Elmore said.

So what does this mean for taxpayers?

City Manager Clai Brown gave Decaturish an example of a $200,000 home assessed at $80,000 by the county. He said a homeowner would’ve paid $80 more in taxes for that home under the 10.957 millage rate.