CORNELIA — The Cornelia City Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to keep its 2026 millage rate at 9.5 mills during its regular October meeting.
While the rate remains unchanged from last year, the city was required to hold three public hearings because the rate is 10.29 percent higher than the Georgia Department of Revenue’s rollback rate of 8.61 mills. During the final hearing, several retired residents voiced concerns about what they viewed as a tax increase.
Sandra Andrews, a senior citizen living in Cornelia, urged the council to consider the needs of residents on fixed incomes.
“I don’t think that we can afford to live here, you know, if we have a tax increase,” Andrews said. “I personally don’t think I will be able to.”
City Manager Donald Anderson told Andrews about the city’s senior homestead exemption and encouraged her to apply.
“It’s $10,000 off the assessed value of your property, so at a 9.5 millage rate, it’s $95 off of your taxes,” Anderson said.
‘We’re not raising taxes’
Anderson emphasized that the city is not proposing to raise taxes.
“If you see a higher tax bill, it’s because the county reassesses the value of your property,” he said. “We’re keeping our taxes where they were last year. It says it’s a 10% increase only because our revenue will increase based on growth and reassessments. But we’re not raising millage rates.”
Mayor John Borrow also clarified that property appraisals are handled by the county.
“The county has the tax assessor’s office, and it has its own commissioner and board, and they’re the ones who appraise it,” Borrow said. “Sometimes we agree with their assessments, and other times we strongly disagree. We’ve even sent letters to them saying we think they really missed it.”
Problems with assessments
Another resident, Larry Joab, said his city tax bill doubled this year despite no major changes to his property.
“I’ve grown up paying taxes, and you get used to it,” Joab said. “I’m not complaining about raising taxes. Everything costs more now. It’s just why does my home value jump double when there’s nothing built around me to make it jump double?”
Borrow offered an analogy to explain how property value increases affect taxes.
“Pretend you went to the dollar store, and they say your sales tax is seven cents,” Borrow said. “Now the dollar store is the $2 store, so your sales tax is 14 cents. The rate has stayed the same, but somebody else said the value of the thing being taxed has gone up.”
Benefits for seniors
While the city cannot lower taxes for seniors, Finance Director Melanie Chandler noted one benefit for older residents.
“While it’s not tax-related, for our senior citizens, we offer a 30% discount on water and sewer service for inside-city residents,” Chandler said. “You just have to apply for it if you haven’t already.”
Budget approval
After approving the millage rate, the council turned to the 2026 city budget. Anderson said service levels will remain steady despite tough spending choices. The $316,078 increase to the general fund includes a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise for employees, with 72 percent of the fund dedicated to public safety. The budget also adds three permanent part-time firefighter positions at a cost of $99,216.
The largest growth is in the water and sewer fund, which will increase by $2.28 million to cover capital projects such as the wastewater plant expansion. To offset costs, the city will raise water rates by 5.4 percent beginning in 2026 and adjust the usage tier from 2,000–10,000 gallons to 2,000–6,000 gallons. Borrow said most residents should see little to no change in their bills.
Without objection, the commission approved the 2026 budget.
Vape Shop Restrictions
In other action, the council voted 4-0 to amend its zoning ordinance to restrict vape shops. The changes mirror alcohol package store regulations, prohibiting vape shops within 1,000 feet of a school or day care and limiting them to business, light industrial or heavy industrial districts.
The next meeting of the Cornelia City Commission will be held Nov. 3 at City Hall.
