Villa Rica staff report 8.25% net digest growth and recommend keeping 5.588-mill rate

City staff presented the 2026 property-tax digest and recommended the council maintain the current millage rate of 5.588 mills rather than adopt the mathematically calculated rollback rate of 5.388 mills. The presentation said the city's gross digest rose materially and that after exemptions the city shows a net digest increase of about 8.25 percent for 2026.

"We are recommending that uh mill rate is maintained," said Miss Homeman during the presentation, citing several budget pressures that she said make maintaining revenue prudent. Staff illustrated that rolling back the millage would mathematically reduce the tax levy tied to reassessment growth; keeping the 5.588 rate was presented as yielding roughly $260,000 in additional local revenue compared with the rollback rate shown in staff calculations.

The presenter gave a breakdown of digest components—residential, industrial and commercial—and county splits between Douglas and Carroll counties used in staff modeling. Staff emphasized the recommendation was to maintain the millage for the coming budget cycle and that final adoption will follow the required public hearings and a formal vote at a later meeting. The council opened the first required hearing and heard no public comments during the morning session.

The presentation included budget context: tax-allocation-district (TAD) revenues and reserves are projected at about $1.1 million while related debt service for FY27 is shown as just under $2 million, creating an estimated shortfall staff said must be covered from the general fund. Staff also highlighted personnel costs, operating-inflation pressures and a planned increase in the city's contractual payment to Carroll Fire Services.