Council says millage would have to increase if SPLOST fails
Ellijay residents will see a slight reduction in their city taxes next year if the presented budget passes.
City Council members, minus Kevin Pritchett, and Mayor Al Hoyle presented the 2026 budget to an empty room at a special called meeting Oct. 13.
For 2026 the budget for the city will be $3,218,059, which is an increase from this year’s $2,920,699.
“It is a 10.18 increase,” said Mayor Hoyle. “If the budget is adopted and nothing is changed, the city’s millage rate based on this budget will decrease from last year’s 1.832 to 1.718.”
The 1.718 millage rate represented the rollback rate for the city, which they are required to take by state law if they don’t advertise a tax increase.
On the SPLOST side the city is budgeting $500,000.
“If the SPLOST failed and we had to raise our millage rate enough to make up for what we didn’t get in in SPLOST revenues, it would put us almost 3 mils, on top of what the county’s increase would be.”
Council member Tom Crawford said losing the SPLOST would represent a large burden being paid solely by the residents of the city and county. Sales taxes are also paid by visitors to the county.
“[Visitors] are paying our freight, thank God for them,” he said. “There are lot of these ‘no taxes under any circumstance’ people and all they would be doing is hurting everybody in a very big way.”
A vote is planned on the 2026 budget at the next regular meeting of the Ellijay City Council.