City of Douglasville Plans No Change to Current Millage

Published on August 04, 2025

The Douglasville City Council intends to maintain the City’s property-tax millage rate at 8.749 mills, the same level adopted last year. Because this rate exceeds the lower “rollback” rate that would completely offset rising property values, Georgia law requires the City to advertise a 4.33 percent tax increase even though the millage rate itself is unchanged.

“Today’s City officials are committed to fiscal discipline, planning for the future we can foresee and creating a sustainable buffer for the uncertainties we cannot,” commented Marcia Hampton, City Manager. “Keeping the millage rate unchanged lets us absorb inflationary pressures while still providing the essential services our residents expect.”

Keeping the current 8.749-mill rate secures predictable funding for services like police, street maintenance, and parks. Rolling the rate back this year would lock the City into a lower revenue base just as construction prices, public-safety equipment, and fuel costs continue to climb. That gap would almost certainly force a steeper millage increase in future years, hitting taxpayers harder all at once. Maintaining today’s rate, therefore, smooths revenue through economic cycles and protects households from sudden spikes.

How Georgia’s rollback law works

Each year the Douglas County Board of Tax Assessors updates property values. When assessments rise, the State computes a rollback millage rate that would keep revenue flat year-over-year. Any jurisdiction that keeps its prior-year rate must advertise the difference as a “tax increase,” even though the rate did not rise.

A homeowner whose assessed value stayed the same will see no City tax change. For example, if a $350,000 home’s value did not increase, its City bill is unchanged; if the value rose, the City portion increases by about $57.54 for the year.

Where the City fits in a typical property-tax bill

Residents are invited to speak at three public hearings before the rate is finalized. Two hearings will be held on Wednesday, August 14 at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. followed by a final hearing on Wednesday, August 28 at 5:00 p.m.  All hearings take place at Jesse Davis Park, 7775 Malone Street, Suite 300, Douglasville, GA. The City Council will vote on the FY 2025 millage rate immediately after the August 28 hearing.