Douglasville homeowners are staring down higher property-tax bills this year, even though city officials insist they are not raising the tax rate. The hit, advertised at about 7.23%, comes from fresh property reassessments that increased the certified tax digest and will land only on parcels whose assessed values went up.
The City of Douglasville is proposing to keep its 2026 millage at 8.749 mills. Because that rate is higher than this year’s rollback rate of 8.159 mills, state law says the city has to treat the difference as a tax increase and publicly advertise it, according to the City of Douglasville. Local reporting pegs the impact at roughly a 7.23% increase and includes a real-world example: on a home with a fair-market value around $350,000, the city’s maintenance-and-operations bill would climb by about $88.50 a year, according to WSB‑TV.
Why It Counts As A “Tax Increase” When The Rate Stays Put
Georgia’s rollback rules calculate a theoretical millage rate that would generate the same total revenue on the new tax digest as last year. If a city or county chooses to keep its old rate above that rollback figure, it has to advertise the gap as a tax increase and hold a set of public hearings. Guidance from the Georgia Secretary of State spells out how that rollback number is computed and what disclosures are required. The idea is to make it clear when higher bills are coming from rising property values rather than an explicit millage hike approved by elected officials.
What This Actually Means For Your Tax Bill
Whether you personally pay more depends entirely on how your property was reassessed. If your home’s assessed value did not change, the city portion of your bill is not supposed to increase. If your value jumped, your bill climbs with it. City Manager Marcia Frazier has stressed that much of this year’s digest growth came from commercial and business personal property instead of a broad spike across all homesteads, a point city staff underscored in conversations with local outlets.
The Douglas County’s appraisal office reports that annual assessment notices went out on June 16 and lists July 31 as the deadline to appeal. Homeowners who think their new value is off can file appeals in person at the appraisal office or submit them online.
How To Weigh In Or Learn More
The city has scheduled public hearings where residents can speak before the council votes on a final millage rate. Meeting times and locations are posted on Douglasville’s events calendar and public-notice pages. For additional context and a short explainer video on the issue, check out coverage from FOX 5 Atlanta and the city’s published notice.
