Archived story
As originally published
Baldwin City Council approved its 2024 property-tax rate resolution on Oct. 28, setting a rate of 9.170 mills for the city’s Habersham County portion and 4.728 mills for its Banks County portion, both with LOST. The resolution, #2024-10154R, passed on a 3–1 vote.
The decision matters because the millage rate is part of the calculation used to determine local property-tax bills. Baldwin’s presence in two counties requires separate rates for each portion of the city, making the council’s action consequential for property owners on both sides of that boundary. The record does not show how the adopted rates changed any particular owner’s bill.
The vote followed weeks of rate-setting work. At a Sept. 3 work session, council discussed possible rates of 9.591 mills in Habersham and 5.171 mills in Banks after LOST; one council member asked for figures under an alternative with no rollback or increase. Council then scheduled the first of three public hearings for Oct. 8. Mayor Stephanie Almagno opened that hearing at 6:31 p.m., no one came forward, and it remained open through the meeting.
Council’s recorded actions show members working through competing rate figures before adopting lower numbers than those discussed in early September. The Sept. 3 minutes attribute the request for a no-rollback-or-increase alternative to a council member, but do not identify the member or record an argument for a particular final rate. At the first hearing, residents offered no public comment, according to the work-session minutes.
The Oct. 28 action was a completed approval, not a proposal: meeting minutes record a motion, second and 3–1 vote adopting the resolution. Earlier figures were discussion points, and the Oct. 8 agenda only scheduled the first hearing. The Oct. 28 minutes state that all three required public hearings had closed, but the record identifies a date only for the first hearing, Oct. 8; it does not establish when the other two occurred.
No further council action or public meeting tied to the 2024 millage-rate resolution is documented. The central decision has been made: Baldwin’s 2024 rates were adopted by a 3–1 vote. What remains unresolved in the public account is the timing of the final two hearings and the precise effect of the separate rates on individual property-tax bills.