City Council will hold its third and last public hearing on Milton’s millage rate, followed by a vote to set that rate for this tax year, when it convenes Monday.

The Council will actually have two meetings on August 12 -- a Work Session that begins at 6 p.m., followed immediately by a Special Called Meeting. People can attend either meeting in person, or watch online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8hLG4-8yw4.

For a Work Session, the Mayor and Councilmembers listen to presentations and can guide City staff on how to proceed. There are no binding votes, however. This agenda for Monday consists of these items:

• Priority Projects Update

  City staff will share, and invite feedback on, the latest regarding a handful of important initiatives. The “Priority Projects Update” has become a regular feature of Council Work Sessions. Among other things, Monday’s update will touch on the City recently finalizing its acquisition of 21.4 acres off Deerfield Parkway as site of a future active park as well as Highway 9 developments.

   

• Discussion of Enhancements for GDOT Funded Local Bridge Projects.

  The Georgia Department of Transportation is managing upcoming upgrades to several bridges around Milton. While GDOT will fund the core of the project, municipalities such as Milton can contribute to adding special features above-and-beyond a standard bridge.

  On Monday, Public Works staff will share options and seek Council’s guidance on enhancements for these local bridge projects. These include bridges along Birmingham Road, Hopewell Road, and Freemanville Road.

   

• Discussion of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.

Over the last few months, Deputy City Manager Bernadette Harvill and fellow City staff members have made multiple presentations to City Council to share projections, assess priorities, and get direction from the Mayor and Councilmembers. This deliberative process aims to culminate in September with a vote on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which will begin on October 1 and extend through September 30, 2025.

During Monday’s presentation, City staff will share a proposal for the FY2025 budget and invite further feedback from the Council. Staff will also be on hand to answer possible questions on new proposed initiatives. Harvill will present a 5-year operating and 7-year capital plan during the Work Session as well. For detailed charts and then some from her presentation, click HERE.

Votes are allowed during the Special Called Meeting, which functions like a Regular Meeting in that the agenda is split into distinct sections that have their own ground rules. For Monday, those are:

• PUBLIC HEARING, which offers special opportunity for public comments on certain matters
• UNFINISHED BUSINESS, a home for items that appeared on previous Council agendas that can now be conclusively voted upon
• NEW BUSINESS, where you’ll find items appearing for the first time on an agenda

The Special Called Meeting will commence immediately after the end of the Work Session (so the budget presentation). Here are summaries of each of its items:

PUBLIC HEARING

• Consideration of an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton, Georgia, to Establish the Ad Valorem Tax Rate of the City of Milton for Fiscal Year 2025; and for Other Purposes. (1st Public Hearing at 8.05.2024 Special Called Council Meeting) (2nd Public Hearing at 8.05.2024 Regular Council Meeting) (3rd Public Hearing at 8.12.2024 Special Called Council Meeting)

  The City of Milton holds public hearings annually before the City Council sets the millage rate – which can impact what people pay in property taxes – for the coming year. This item refers to the third and final public hearing in that process. 

  City staff will present the current millage rate of 4.389 mills as well as options with lower millage rates. This presentation will address the City’s coming budget, since the amount of revenue Milton collects through property taxes could impact its future spending. (This is also the rationale behind having the Fiscal Year 2025 budget presentation during Monday’s earlier Work Session.)

  For Deputy City Manager Bernadette Harvill's MILLAGE RATE PRESENTATION, click HERE. For her FINANCIAL METRICS COMPARISON, click HERE.

   

   

  UNFINISHED BUSINESS

• Consideration of an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton, Georgia, to Establish the Ad Valorem Tax Rate of the City of Milton for Fiscal Year 2025; and for Other Purposes.

  This item refers to a Council vote to set Milton’s ad valorem tax rate, or millage rate, for Fiscal Year 2025. It follows three public hearings on the matter, including one immediately preceding this vote.

   

  NEW BUSINESS

• Council Consideration and Approval of a Subdivision Participation and Release Form and a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning National Settlement with The Kroger Co.

  Approval of this memorandum of understanding would give the City of Milton access to part of this opioid-related national settlement with Kroger. As with other similar settlements, this will be administered through the State of Georgia.

   

• Consideration of a Resolution of the Milton City Council Appointing Members to the Milton Parks and Recreation Authority.

In addition to Milton’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board the City also has a Parks and Recreation Authority that is authorized by the City Charter. Both committees consist of seven people appointed by Milton’s Mayor and Councilmembers.

Approving this resolution would keep the Parks and Recreation Authority active to call on if needed; there is no plan to utilize it at this time. It would also appoint the exact same members to it that are currently on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.