Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Columbia County holds first public hearing on FY2025–26 budget, proposes keeping millage at 7.815
Summary
Columbia County opened the first required public hearing on the fiscal 2025–26 budget and proposed keeping the millage rate at 7.815, while staff warned the year will be tight and that rising appraised values—not a higher rate—are driving higher revenue in dollars.
Columbia County opened the first of two public hearings on the fiscal year 2025–26 budget and the proposed millage rate, with staff recommending the current millage of 7.815 be maintained.
County staff presented the budget and the tax figures: gross taxable value certified by the property appraiser was stated as $4,683,192,926; the proposed millage is 7.815, the rollback rate was shown as 7.3515, and staff said the proposed rate represents about a 6.37% increase in revenue compared with the rollback calculation. The board opened the hearing for public comment and will hold a second hearing in two weeks.
Why it matters: maintaining the current rate while taxable values rise results in higher overall tax collections in dollars and cents; that extra revenue helps pay for personnel, utilities and capital work in a year staff described as “tight.” Staff said the budget limits operating increases where possible, includes a 2% salary adjustment for employees and transfers some utility operations to other…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
