Clarkesville locks in 2026 budget and 13.57-mill tax rate, but council vote remains undisclosed

Clarkesville’s Mayor and Council adopted the city’s 2026 budget and set its property-tax rate at 13.57 mills on Oct. 6, 2025, according to signed Resolution 2025-5. The action establishes the city’s spending plan and the rate used in calculating the city portion of 2026 property-tax bills for taxable property in Clarkesville.

The paired decisions affect residents, businesses and other property owners in different but connected ways. The budget directs planned city spending, while the millage rate supplies a central figure in determining the city tax charged on assessed property value; at 13.57 mills, the rate provides a concrete benchmark for taxpayers seeking to understand the city’s 2026 tax component.

The adoption followed a procedural path that began with a Sept. 8 council agenda item seeking discussion and a vote on scheduling a Sept. 23 public hearing for the 2026 budget and millage rate. That agenda alone did not establish that the hearing date was approved. Resolution 2025-5 later said hearings were held Sept. 23, Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, leading to the Oct. 6 adoption.

For property owners, the immediate public-facing figure is the 13.57-mill rate; for the city, the budget and rate together form the annual fiscal plan adopted by the Mayor and Council. The signed resolution attributes the action to the full governing body, but it does not identify speakers, competing proposals, or individual members’ support or opposition. As a result, the record does not establish whether the decision was unanimous or divided.

The Sept. 8 hearing-date item was a proposal, not proof of a completed council action. By contrast, Resolution 2025-5 directly confirms that the budget and 13.57-mill rate were adopted Oct. 6 after the three hearings. What remains unknown from that resolution is the motion used, the vote tally and how each council member voted. No later official record identified here establishes that either the adopted budget or tax rate was amended or otherwise changed.

The next public document likely to clarify the process is the Oct. 6 council meeting minutes or another official action record. It could show the motion, tally and individual voting record, but the central decision is already settled in Resolution 2025-5: Clarkesville adopted its 2026 budget and a 13.57-mill rate. Until a later official record appears, it remains undecided in the public account whether the city made any subsequent revision to either measure.