City of Douglasville holds final public hearing on proposed 2026 ad valorem millage rate

The City of Douglasville held its third and final public hearing on Aug. 3, 2026, on the proposed 2026 ad valorem property tax millage rate. Karen Callum, the city's assistant city manager and chief financial officer, explained the difference between the maintenance and operations (M&O) millage and the bond millage and recommended keeping the M&O rate unchanged at 8.749 for 2026.

"M and O stands for maintenance and operations," Callum said, and she told council that the bond millage is being reduced this year. Callum said state regulations require the city to advertise for a tax increase when it does not roll back the millage, and presented the combined rate as decreasing "a 4.86% decrease, 10.36 to 9.649," per the presentation materials. As an example of the household impact, she said a house assessed at $350,000 with no change in valuation would pay $54.18 less than the prior year under the presented rates.

Callum described revenue drivers for the property-tax digest: about 80% comes from the base digest, roughly 13% from new growth and about 7% from reassessments of property (including commercial and personal property). She said inflationary cost pressures on operations were a factor in proposing to hold the M&O rate while the bond portion declines.

The mayor relayed constituent questions about assessment appeals and escrow and asked whether an increased assessment could raise mortgage payments; Callum replied that appeals are handled by the county assessor and that "if your evaluation is higher, you will pay more taxes," and that escrowed mortgage accounts could be affected. Callum also noted the city does not set property valuations — the Douglas County tax assessor does — and that the county was holding its own hearings on its millage schedule.

Council member Chris Watts, the Finance Committee chairperson, opened the public-comment period and invited members of the public to speak, but no one came forward. Watts closed the hearing and the council adjourned the public-hearing portion of the meeting. City leaders scheduled a special-called City Council meeting for 5:30 p.m. the same evening to formally consider and adopt the millage rate.

The presentation and discussion were limited to the millage question; no votes or formal actions on the millage were taken at this meeting. The special-called meeting at 5:30 p.m. is expected to include final council action on the 2026 millage rate.