Milton adopts 4.118 mill operating rate, final budget and related ordinances unanimously

Milton city leaders on Sept. 11 adopted a 4.118 mill operating property tax rate for fiscal year 2026 and approved the city’s final budget, capital improvements plan and two ordinances including a revised pay table, all by unanimous votes at a special public hearing.

City staff presented a series of slides comparing the proposed city millage and the county municipal services taxing unit (MSTU) scenarios, explaining how the city’s decision to opt out of the county MSTU affects total tax bills for property owners. "This post is 100% accurate for 50% of the story," Mr. Spears, a staff member who led the presentation, told the council as he summarized earlier social-media coverage and the fuller tax picture.

The staff presentation is the practical basis for the council’s votes: the adopted 4.118 mills is the operating millage the resolution sets. The presentation showed that the city millage alone at 4.118 mills will generate about $2.5 million in operating revenue (compared with $1.8 million at 2.99 mills), producing roughly $683,000 in new recurring general fund revenue. Because the city is opting out of the county MSTU, staff said the net combined millage for city property owners would be about 13.4228 mills, a 6.6% decrease from the current total millage,…