Macon-Bibb adds fourth property tax hearing before September 9 vote

The proposal keeps the rate unchanged from last year but sits 9.28% above the rollback rate.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Macon-Bibb County will hold an additional public hearing Wednesday, September 9 before commissioners vote on a proposed 9.575-mill property tax rate.

The fourth hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. in Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 700 Poplar Street. A county presentation lists the final adoption vote for 9:05 a.m.

The county announced the additional hearing Tuesday after holding three previously advertised hearings August 28 and Tuesday. The original millage ordinance listed Tuesday as the adoption date.

Mayor Lester Miller announced during the Tuesday morning hearing that another hearing and the adoption vote were being scheduled for next week He repeated that announcement during the pre-commission meeting before Tuesday night’s final previously scheduled hearing.

What the proposed rate means

The county is recommending that commissioners keep the millage rate at 9.575 mills, the same rate used last year.

However, the proposed rate is 0.813 mills above the state-calculated rollback rate of 8.762 mills. Georgia law classifies that as a 9.28% property tax increase.

The rollback rate is the rate designed to keep property tax revenue level as the tax digest grows.

“The proposal is to keep that millage rate exactly the same,” Miller said during Tuesday night’s hearing. “That would not result in a 9% tax increase across the homeowners of Macon-Bibb County because one-half of our digest is commercial. In fact, if your home value last year was the same, then you’ll receive the same exact bill that you did this year. If your home has decreased in value, your bill will go down, and if your home has increased in value, your bill may go up depending on your exemptions.”

An individual property owner’s bill depends on the property’s taxable assessed value and exemptions.

Miller also said during both Tuesday hearings that homeowners represent about 7% of the county’s overall $221 million budget.

“Which is a very small amount,” he said. “Of course it’s a big amount for those of us who pay that.”

County points to public safety spending

Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2027 budget in June based on the assumption that the millage rate would remain at 9.575 mills. The separate millage process determines the property tax rate used to fund that budget.

Miller said maintaining the current millage rate would help the county continue funding public safety.

“As we’ve told you before, the majority of our budget, 57 percent, is public safety related,” he said Tuesday.

The county’s presentation lists about $125.8 million in proposed fiscal year 2027 spending for public safety, an increase of about $3.56 million from the current fiscal year.

The proposed sheriff’s office budget would increase by about $3.36 million to $61.49 million. The fire department budget would increase by about $312,000 to $34.43 million.

The public safety category also includes funding for the Emergency Management Agency, code enforcement, courts and the coroner.

The proposed millage ordinance projects the county will collect about $67.05 million in property taxes.

During the August 28 hearing, Miller said the county’s entire property tax levy barely covers the sheriff’s office budget.

“You can see that we’re very public safety minded and heavy on our budget, and if you add the fire department to that, you’re over $100 million,” he told 41NBC on August 28.

Other slides presented by the county show one-year funding increases of about $447,000 for information technology and $266,000 for recreation. The approved beautification budget decreases by about $392,000 from the previous fiscal year.

Since fiscal year 2021, county figures show public safety funding has increased by about $31.7 million. Salaries and benefits have increased by about $22.7 million, information technology by $3.87 million, recreation by $3.34 million and beautification by $1.88 million.

The county says it also uses money from SPLOST, OLOST, federal pandemic relief and other sources to support affordable housing, blight remediation, Macon Violence Prevention, Macon Mental Health Matters and Paving the Way.

Millage rate history

The county’s presentation shows the millage rate has fallen from 20.331 mills in fiscal year 2021 to 9.575 mills in fiscal year 2026.

The proposed fiscal year 2027 rate would remain at 9.575 mills. That rate is more than 50% below the fiscal year 2021 rate, but changes in millage rates alone do not show how individual tax bills changed because property assessments and exemptions also affect what owners pay.

Residents speak during hearings

Two residents spoke against the proposal during the August 28 hearing.

They both expressed concern about how even small increases could affect residents, particularly renters in low-income neighborhoods. Both feared property owners could pass higher expenses along to tenants.

One speaker also raised concerns about the timing of the proposal alongside higher water rates and the Bibb County School Board’s separate tentative millage proposal.

Only one person spoke during both of Tuesday’s hearings. He supported the proposed rate and said he believed county officials were acting responsibly.

County budget documents, presentations and meeting videos are available at maconbibb.us/fy27budget.