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Kennesaw holds public hearing on 7.75 mills M&O rate as resident questions notice, rising city tax bill
Summary
At a second public hearing Aug. 4, 2025, the City of Kennesaw proposed a maintenance & operations millage of 7.75 mills, unchanged from last year; resident Denise Fry told the council she learned of the hearing belatedly and said her city tax portion has roughly doubled since 2021. Staff agreed to review her Cobb County tax record and demonstrate the city’s public portal for notices.
The City of Kennesaw opened a second public hearing Aug. 4, 2025 on the proposed maintenance and operations (M&O) millage rate of 7.75 mills, the same rate the city proposed for the prior year. A staff presenter told the mayor and council the rate and the required legal notices were advertised per OCGA §48-5-32 and listed publication dates in the Marietta Daily Journal.
During public comment, Denise Fry of 1901 Lake Heights Circle said she learned of the hearing only from a neighbor and does not read the Marietta Daily Journal. "I usually follow the page, Kennesaw page, and I was not able to see anything on there," Fry said, adding that she did not see notice of the meeting on the city’s pages.
Fry told council members she had tracked the city portion of her property tax and said it increased from about $603 in 2021 to nearly $1,490 most recently, and that her total housing-related payments now exceed $5,000 a year. She also said that, although her neighborhood lies inside city limits, it is privately maintained and homeowners pay for pothole and storm-drain repairs that the city does not provide. "We don't get any services," she said.
City staff and councilmembers responded on the record, offering to sit down with Fry after the meeting and to pull up her Cobb County tax records for a line-by-line review. A staff member also offered to show Fry how to subscribe to the city's public portal and events calendar to receive meeting notifications.
No formal vote or action on the millage rate was taken during the hearing; the item was presented and public comment recorded ahead of a later meeting where the council may take formal action.
Next steps: staff said they would review Fry’s tax calculation and follow up with her. The council indicated the third and final public hearing on the millage would take place that evening.
