Bainbridge City Council is planning to increase 2019 property taxes by 0.15 percent over the rollback millage rate.

“Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the city,” said the City of Bainbridge in a press release. “When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the city indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment.”

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

The budget tentatively adopted by the City of Bainbridge Mayor and Council requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate.

Before the City of Bainbridge Mayor and Council may finalize the tentative budget and set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.

Three public hearings will be held at the City Council Chambers for all Bainbridge residents concerned about the tax increase. The first two will be August 6, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and on August 20, at 6:30 p.m.

The City Council Chambers is located at 101 South Broad Street in Downtown Bainbridge.