The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education held the second of three required public millage hearings on the fiscal 2026 tentative budget and millage rate, with the meeting called to order at 6:16 p.m. by Dr. Sultan.

Dr. Broom, the districtchief financial officer, presented the fiscal 2026 tentative budget and said the board has tentatively adopted a millage rate of 20.3, the same rate used in fiscal 2025. "The computed rollback rate is 19.083," Dr. Broom said, and he noted that a 20.3 millage equates to a 6.38% increase in property tax revenue compared with the rollback rate.

The hearing matters because Georgia law requires additional public notice and three hearings when a taxing authority proposes a millage higher than the rollback rate. Dr. Broom referenced the statutory requirement, citing "Georgia Code 48-5-32.1," and described the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights as "Senate Bill 177 in Act 431, signed April 30, 1999, effective Jan. 1, 2000," as the authority requiring the hearings and disclosure.

Key figures presented by the district: the rollback rate calculation shows a rollback millage of 19.083, 1.217 mils below the tentative 20.3 rate; an illustrative 6.38% increase would raise annual taxes on a property with a fair-market value of $700,000 by about $426 and on a non-homestead property with a fair-market value of $900,000 by about $548. Dr. Broom said the average increase would be about $61 for every $100,000 of assessed value.

On the budget tables, the district showed total taxes levied under the 20.3 millage at $65,200,000 for 2025 and estimated net collections of about $64,000,000 after fees, delinquencies and appeals. The proposed fiscal 2026 budget showed total expenditures exceeding total revenues by $3,100,000, which the presentation said would be drawn from the beginning fund balance and leave a projected ending fund balance of approximately $17,700,000. The proposed budget includes six additional school-based positions and one executive director position in the deputy superintendent's office, and it seeks to maintain a fund-balance range of 4% to 15% as specified in board policy DCL.

Dr. Broom listed reasons the district gave for maintaining the tentative millage above the rollback rate: funding the state's unfunded mandates for health benefits and teacher retirement increases, providing life insurance and competitive salary increases for full-time employees, and investments in safety and security, special education and instruction.

The district also presented its legally required notices and advertising: a press release and advertisements in the Champion newspaper and on the district website that disclose the 5-year levy history, the notice of property tax increase and the dates and times of the three hearings. No members of the public raised comments during the hearing; staff reported "we do not have any of our attendees who have clicked the raise hand button to speak."

This hearing did not include a board vote; the presentation closed and the meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m. The boardwill hold the third millage hearing virtually on June 20 at 6:00 p.m., followed by a special meeting and final adoption of the fiscal 2026 millage rate at 6:30 p.m., using the same Zoom link listed on the district website.

The presentation and hearing transcript indicate the board is following the public-notice and hearing procedures required under state law; no changes to the tentative millage were proposed during this session.