Milton City Council made a move during their Monday session to maintain its current property tax rate, a decision echoing their stance on funding city projects now rather than delaying and facing escalated costs. Mayor Peyton Jamison emphasized the importance of the city's high service level and the potential risks of delaying infrastructure upgrades, "All [lowering the rate] does is kick these pay-go projects down the road to a future Council," as reported by the City of Milton's official website.
After three public hearings the Council kept the millage rate at 4.389, the same rate approved last year after an initial decrease; this was in conjunction with a separate 0.356 greenspace bond rate, which is part of the funding for a $25 million greenspace project voted on by the public, Deputy City Manager Bernadette Harvill defined financial terms, highlighted exemption opportunities, and benchmarked Milton's fiscal responsibility against neighboring cities, laying out two millage scenarios with her projections showing over an $800,000 revenue difference between the two.
The city also addressed the paused widening project on Highway 9 by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), emphasizing the cleanup efforts needed for already affected areas and the city's proposals to implement a reduced corridor speed limit and allowing extra room for landscaping, with Special Projects Director Bob Buscemi updating the Council on the progress and GDOT's receptiveness to Milton's suggestions.
The Milton City Council also discussed bridge upgrades over a work session, showing a preference for aesthetic enhancements to several local bridges by choosing alternatives such as brown guardrails and stone-look bridge walls while acknowledging additional costs for further customizing the bridges, as detailed by Engineering Project Manager Rob Dell-Ross in the meeting's proceedings.
Deputy City Manager Harvill also presented a draft for the fiscal year 2025 budget, including potential additions such as 11 new firefighters for a new station and funds for historic sites and community centers—the council will cast their votes on the final budget version on September 16, with the proposal presently accessible for public review via the city's website.
The Milton City Council is next slated to come back together on August 19 for their ensuing Regular Meeting.
