Demorest council moves ahead with 7.16-mill rate tied to 30.21% tax increase

Demorest City Council voted unanimously, 4-0, on Oct. 22, 2024, to move forward with a 7.16-mill property-tax rate after a public hearing at the Demorest Municipal Conference Center. City materials tied that rate to a projected 30.21% increase in property taxes, making the action a significant step in the city’s annual tax process for local property owners.

The dispute was fundamentally about the size of the city’s tax burden. The proposed 7.16 mills was 1.661 mills higher than the prior 5.499-mill rate, according to city hearing materials. For a property with a $175,000 fair-market value, the city estimated an increase of about $102.92 for a homestead property and $116.27 for a comparable nonhomestead property.

The Oct. 22 vote followed a process that began with public hearings on Oct. 15. At those hearings, the mayor said the council had tentatively adopted the 7.16-mill figure, framing it as the rate that would produce the projected increase. The city then scheduled another public hearing for Oct. 22 on that tentative rate before council members approved a motion to move forward with it after the hearing.

For homeowners and other property owners, the practical concern was whether the proposed increase would appear in their city tax obligation and by how much. City officials presented the 7.16-mill rate and the illustrative tax effects during the hearing process. Council’s recorded position was unanimous support for moving forward, while the hearing notices provided the public a formal opportunity to consider and respond to the tentative rate.

The public hearings and the Oct. 22 4-0 vote are completed acts. The 7.16-mill figure was described in the process as tentative, and the minutes say council approved a motion to move forward with the rate. Those minutes do not characterize the action as final adoption of the millage rate, and they do not document a separate levy, certification, billing action or collection. As a result, the record does not establish whether the proposal was legally implemented or what owners were ultimately billed.

The next meaningful public step would be an official levy, rate certification, tax bill or comparable implementation record. That document could show whether Demorest carried out the 7.16-mill rate, amended it after the hearing process, or took an additional formal action before billing property owners. Until then, the council’s October vote is clear, but the final effect on city tax bills remains unresolved.