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[1. Call to Order]

[00:00:04]

ALL RIGHT. I'LL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. THIS IS THE CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING.

I'LL READ THE RULES OF ORDER FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON ZONING MATTERS.

THE MAYOR IS THE PRESIDING OFFICER. ALL REMARKS SHALL BE ADDRESSED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AS A BODY, NOT TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK SHALL COME TO THE MICROPHONE.

GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS TO THE CITY CLERK.

LIMIT REMARKS TO THREE MINUTES UNLESS FURTHER TIME IS GRANTED BY COUNCIL AND NOT SPEAK A SECOND TIME UNTIL EVERYONE WISHING TO SPEAK HAS SPOKEN ONCE.

NO ONE CAN SPEAK MORE THAN TWICE. PLEASE DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS YOU HAVE THE MICROPHONE AND HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED.

[2. Public Hearing]

WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING THE 2026 MILLAGE RATE.

WE HAD OUR FIRST ONE LAST THURSDAY, JUNE 4TH.

AND SO JUST BRIEFLY, WE'LL GO OVER OUR PROCESS, WE SET IT'S, WE SET OUR MILLAGE RATE ANNUALLY.

AGAIN, THIS IS THE SECOND OF THE, OF THE THREE THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE.

THE LAST ONE, THE THIRD AND FINAL ONE WILL BE JUNE 16TH.

DURING OUR REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT 6:00 P.M.

AND OUR RATE MUST BE ADOPTED BY JULY 1ST. WE ARE PROPOSING A 2026 MILLAGE RATE OF 7.25 MILLS, AND THIS IS THE FIRST MILLAGE RATE ADJUSTMENT IN MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS.

PREVIOUSLY, CHAMBLEE HAS HELD ITS MILLAGE RATE STEADY SINCE 2018, WHEN IT WAS LOWERED FROM 6.4 TO 6.25 MILLS.

AND WE ALSO INCREASED OUR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AT THAT TIME TO $50,000.

AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO HAVE A 100% HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR SENIORS.

AND JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, THIS MILLAGE RATE HAS TO BE ADVERTISED AS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER THE ROLLBACK RATE.

AND SO THE ROLLBACK RATE SHOWS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE OF 23.47%.

THE ROLLBACK RATE IS A HYPOTHETICAL RATE THAT WOULD COLLECT THE SAME TOTAL DOLLARS AS LAST YEAR AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR RISING PROPERTY TAX VALUES.

BUT AS YOU KNOW, AND AS ALL OUR CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN WE HAVE ONLY COLLECTED ABOUT 85% OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S RATE.

SO THERE'S STILL KIND OF A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL GAP BETWEEN WHAT OUR TAX DIGEST SAYS WE SHOULD BE GENERATING AND WHAT ULTIMATELY IS RECEIVED BY THE CITY AT THE END OF THE DAY, BASED OFF OF ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT NET TAX DIGEST THROUGH THE PROCESS TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, SO ON AND SO FORTH. THE ROLLBACK RATE IS ADVERTISED AS 5.872 MILLS.

AGAIN WE ARE PROPOSING A 7.25 MILL MILLAGE RATE, WHICH IS A ONE MILL INCREASE FROM OUR CURRENT MILLAGE RATE OF 6.25 MILLS.

THE CITY PROPOSED. OR THE CITY ADOPTED A ANNUAL 2025 BUDGET OF $35.9 MILLION WHICH IS A FLAT BUDGET OVER 2025'S BUDGET, WHICH WAS THE SAME SPENDING LEVEL.

BUT LIKE EVERY HOUSEHOLD AND BUSINESS IN CHAMBLEE, THE CITY IS NAVIGATING A PERIOD OF RISING COSTS AND ACROSS PRETTY MUCH EVERY CATEGORY OF BUSINESS. WE ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES COMING FROM PROPERTY TAX APPEALS AND STATE LEGISLATION.

THE PROPOSED RATE ALLOWS THE CITY TO MAINTAIN ITS OPERATIONS WITHOUT REDUCING THE LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED AND PROPERTY, PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE, INVESTMENTS, PARKS AND RECREATION, AND ALL THE OTHER GENERAL FUNDED.

GENERAL FUND PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE. JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, THE AVERAGE FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR A SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL HOME IN CHAMBLEE IS $525,000. SO THIS WOULD RESULT IN A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.

BY WAY OF OUR ADVERTISEMENT OF $275.60. BUT WHEN YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE $50,000 HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION ON HOMESTEADED PROPERTIES, THE TRUE AVERAGE IMPACT IS APPROXIMATELY $213.94 PER YEAR, OR $18 PER MONTH.

DEKALB COUNTY AND DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOLS MAKE UP THE VAST MAJORITY OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S TAX BILL.

AND THAT'S IT. THAT I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE FLOOR.

ANYBODY WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL ON THIS MATTER? ANYBODY? IS THERE ANY COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? THE FINAL PUBLIC HEARING IS TUESDAY NIGHT, THIS COMING TUESDAY NIGHT AT 6:00 P.M.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY DESIRE TO SPEAK ON THIS SUBJECT, WE'LL BE GLAD TO HEAR YOU ON TUESDAY.

AND WITH THAT, WE'RE ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.