Zebulon to hold hearings on proposed tax hike

The City of Zebulon has announced its intention to increase the 2026 property taxes it will levy by 26.72 percent over the rollback millage rate.

Zebulon has been committed to conservative budgeting and fiscal policies over the last 10 years. However, the overall costs of utilities, insurance and other fixed costs has risen to a point where we are unable to continue to absorb the increases.

Additionally, in order to provide an increased level of service that our citizens expect necessitates that we make investments in people, equipment and processes. The proposed millage increase will allow for these investments to be made.

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires a rollback millage rate 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.

Zebulon’s tentative budget requires a millage rate higher than the rollback rate; therefore, before the city can finalize the tentative budget and set a final millage rate three public hearings are to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions.

Those hearings will be held at city hall Sept. 3 at noon, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. and Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.