Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
This was the first of three required public hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2026 millage rate for the City of Johns Creek, held on October 15, 2026, at 6:00 PM. No vote was taken; the hearing was for public input only. The Finance Director presented the tax digest, historical rates, and the advertised rates. No members of the public spoke.
Finance Director Hora explained that the tax digest is set by Fulton County at 40% of fair market value. The 2026 net tax digest is $6.6 billion, an increase of $125 million (1.92%) over 2025, with $11 million from reassessment and $14 million from new growth. The advertised maintenance and operations (M&O) millage rate is 3.492 mils, unchanged from 2025. The rollback rate (the rate that would collect the same revenue as last year given digest growth) is 3.434 mils. The parks bond millage is advertised at 0.250 mils, with a rollback of 0.247 mils. The city's combined M&O and bond millage is the smallest portion of a property owner's total tax bill—the school board (over 17 mils) and Fulton County (8.87 mils) being the largest components. Among Fulton County cities, Johns Creek has the lowest M&O millage rate. Property tax revenue makes up approximately 28% of the city's general fund, funding public safety, administration, and capital projects.
A council member raised concerns about the delay in receiving the certified digest (received September 14, 2026), which pushed the millage hearings later than usual (past July/August). They noted that a temporary collection order was issued to avoid a cash flow problem. The council member stated a philosophical view of restraining taxes but acknowledged practical constraints: keeping the rate at 3.492 avoids the cost and confusion of issuing refunds and an additional addendum bill to residents if the rate were rolled back. They asked about the soft costs of the delay and whether Fulton County would reduce its collection fee (currently about $250,000–$275,000 annually). The Finance Director confirmed there is no provision in the intergovernmental agreement to withhold fees, but the revenue commissioner could enforce a reduction. The council member suggested that Fulton County should reduce the fee as a gesture of partnership. The Mayor emphasized that clear communication to the public about the billing situation is important. The council member also mentioned exploring the possibility of the city handling its own tax billing in the future, as Roswell does.
Should I wait till the point of the case? Thank you. Recording. Yes. We're ready. Yes. Okay. I'd like to call this public hearing of the Johns Creek City Council to order for fiscal year 2026 millage rate. And uh we'll have the finance director. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Let's see. And feel free to give us the abridged. Where are the people? All right. This is the first of three public hearings on the 2026 millage rate. We are required to advertise and hold these three hearings based on the digest that we received from Fulton County. The millage hearings have been advertised as per state law, and this hearing does not set the millage rate. This slide here lays the foundation for everything that follows in the remaining slides. Fulton County, not the city, is responsible for assessing the value of all real and personal property in Johns Creek. The assessed value is set at 40% of fair market value, and the sum of all assessed value citywide is what we call the tax digest. The digest grows in two distinct ways each year. And growth, which comes from new homes and new businesses being added to the tax digest. And by state law, Fulton County must submit all of the county's millage rates, including ours to the Department of Revenue, typically by September 1, but because this is this year is kind of different. You know, it'll be later. So to give a brief brief background, this slide here explains how millage actually translates into a tax bill. Three separate taxing jurisdictions levy millage against the same tax digest, the school board, the county, and the city, and each sets its own rate independently. Millage is expressed in dollars per thousand of net assessed value, one mil equals one dollar of tax per thousand dollar of assessed value. For example, a $500,000 home has an assessed value of $200,000, which is 40% of market value. At a millage rate of five mils, uh, that's 200,000 divided by 1,000 dollars times five, which equals $1,000 in property taxes. And this is just an ill uh illustrative example here. Uh this slide shows exactly how the total bill breaks down, and as you see on the pie chart, uh the city's portion is the smallest slice of the pie. Uh school millage is the highest at a little over 17 mils, by far the largest component. Uh county is 8.87. Uh county bond is at 0.169. The city's MO is 3.492, and the city bond is 0.25. Added together, the total overall 2025 millage rate paid by our Johns Creek property owner was 29.861 mils. The city's combined MNO and bond millage is a small sliver compared to the school and county portions. Uh here on this chart, uh, we benchmark our city MMO millage rate against other cities uh within Fulton County. And as you will see, Johns Creek rate uh of 3.492 is the lowest. Uh this chart here shows Johns Creek's uh own historical MNO Millage rate from 2006 to through 2025.