ALTO — The Alto Town Council voted Tuesday to schedule three public hearings on a proposed increase to its 2025 millage rate.
While the Georgia Department of Revenue requires three public hearings before any tax increase, the council appeared uncertain about what the new rate should be.
Mayor Gail Armour provided a brief history of the town’s millage rate over the past decade.
“In 2016, the millage rate stood at 6.2 mills,” Armour said. “In 2021, after COVID, we rolled it back to 4.95, and for the last three years it’s held at 4.37.”
Armour and Chief Financial Officer Lisa Turner proposed raising the rate back to 6.2 mills, citing inflation and rising insurance costs as key factors.
“The city is feeling the pressures of inflation, and it has put a strain on us,” Armour said. “With the increase in insurance costs, next year’s budget will be higher than this year’s.”
However, the 2026 budget has not yet been drafted. Armour said Turner will work to prepare a proposed budget before the first public hearing.
Turner estimated that raising the millage rate to 6.2 mills—a 41 percent increase—would raise annual property taxes on a $300,000 home from $524 to $744.
Some council members expressed hesitation.
“We don’t need to raise the millage rate because of what other cities are doing,” Councilwoman P.J. Huggins said. “If we raise the millage rate, we need to do it to meet our needs.”
Councilman James Turner also opposed the increase, but Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Palmer warned that failing to act could harm the town’s infrastructure.
“We’re going to have to do something to keep the infrastructure going, or we might as well just shut down,” Palmer said.
As a compromise, Huggins suggested presenting two draft budgets at the first public hearing—one based on the proposed 6.2 mills and another at 5.285 mills, a midpoint between the current and proposed rates.
Alto will hold public hearings on Oct. 20 at noon and 6 p.m. and Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., followed by a called meeting at 7 p.m. to vote on the millage rate and budget.
In other business, the council tabled a proposal to upgrade 600 water meters and related equipment at a cost of $224,251 funded through SPLOST. The measure was delayed to confirm with Habersham County officials that the project qualifies under SPLOST guidelines. The council also tabled its right-of-way maintenance policy indefinitely.
The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 11.
