-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Rome City Commission will hold the first of three public hearings regarding the millage rate on Monday.
The proposed combined rates for the City Government and City Schools of 26.25 will result in no increase of the millage rate from the prior year but will be an increase of 1.5% over the calculated rollback rate of 25.871 for City M&O, City Capital, and City School tax.
The estimated City and City School tax for a property with a current market value of $250,000 would be $2,625 in 2026.
At the 2026 rollback rate, the estimated tax would be $2,587.
The City of Rome is having to deal with a stagnant tax digest, which is a combined value of all properties in the city
It grew at only 1.4 percent.
“We were just a little more optimistic that we were going to have more growth in the digest,” said Rome City Manager Sammy Rich. “That is the reality, so we are trying to tighten the bootstraps and see what we can do to save or where we can cut. We need to stay as efficient as possible, but in the meantime, we do have to set a millage rate as we move forward, because we do have to fund the city government.”
For a property with a current market value of $175,000, the proposed 2026 rate of 26.25 would result in a tax amount of $1,838 compared to the rollback rate of 25.871, which results in a tax amount of $1,811, a 1.5% increase.
“We are in a good position this year in the sense that if there is an increase in city M&O and city capital, and a decrease in Rome City Schools millage, because we have an opportunity to decrease that,” Rich said. “Then on top of that, this year we will be provided, from the State of Georgia, the HTRG—the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. So, that provides an additional $18,000 deduction in assessed value. This year, we are in a unique position to be able to see some savings for the homeowners.”
Monday’s public hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Rome City Hall.
Additional Public Hearings will be held on August 10 at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
