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Kennesaw staff recommends 1.5 mills bond rate; council discusses rollbacks and early payoff
Summary
City staff presented a proposed bond millage of 1.5 mills to cover debt service on $15 million in voter-approved bonds. Councilmembers discussed rollback scenarios that could save homeowners $4–$15 and said staff is evaluating using surplus to pay off bonds early; no final vote was taken.
At a second public hearing on Aug. 4, 2025, the City of Kennesaw presented a proposed bond millage rate of 1.5 mills, the same level as the prior year, to fund debt service on $15,000,000 in voter-approved recreation and traffic-safety bonds (voter approval date cited as Sept. 21, 2004). Staff told the council the required legal notices were run in the Marietta Daily Journal and other publications in July 2025 in compliance with OCGA §48-5-32.
Councilmembers and staff discussed potential rollback options for the bond millage. One councilmember described a "full rollback" of 0.025, which staff estimated would reduce the millage to about 1.475, save the city roughly $60,000 and lower the bill for an average homeowner by about $4. Staff also described a larger rollback of 0.10 (0.1), which would reduce the budget by approximately $218,000 and yield about a $15 savings to homeowners, bringing the rate to about 1.4 mills.
Councilmembers said the city has collected a surplus above current indebtedness and that staff is evaluating whether paying off the bonds early could be feasible; staff cautioned that early payoff may not produce direct savings for the city but could eliminate the bond obligation faster. "We're currently looking into that," a staff member said.
No vote or formal adoption of the bond millage occurred at this hearing. Councilmembers expressed an interest in pursuing rollback options and asked staff to continue analyzing early payoff opportunities; staff indicated they would bring further information to future meetings.
Next steps: staff will continue to analyze rollback scenarios and the feasibility and budgetary effects of any early payoff, and the council planned to take final action at a subsequent meeting.
