Town Council Meeting - MILLAGE PUBLIC HEARING

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING - MILLAGE PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES October 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM Eric Dial, Mayor Gloria Furr, Mayor Pro Tem, Post 4 Jessica Whelan, Post 1 Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Dia Hunter, Post 2 Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Also present: Phillip Trocquet, Assistant Town Manager Sandy Beach, Finance Manager Absent: Eric Dial, Mayor, Dennis Davenport Town Attorney I. CALL TO ORDER II. INVOCATION III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made to approve the agenda. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hunter. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell, Council Member Whelan, Council Member Hunter. VI. CONSENT AGENDA: All matters listed under this item are considered to be routine by the Town Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered separately. VII. PRESENTATIONS VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. A Public Hearing for the Proposed 2025 Millage Rate to Remain at 2.889. - Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Town Council Meeting - MILLAGE PUBLIC HEARING Page 1 of 4 October 21, 2025 Mr. Perkins shared that today was the second public hearing for the millage rate. He added that staff placed the required ads along with the 5-year history. He announced that if approved, the millage rate would have remained the same for eighteen years in a row. He reviewed the presentation from last Thursday. He explained that a millage rate was the property tax applied per $1,000 of assessed value. That revenue helped provide services such as public safety, paving of roads, parks, and administrative services. He stated that the current rate made up only 15.46% of the Town’s General Fund revenue, whereas property taxes usually account for two-thirds of the General Fund. Mr. Perkins explained that Tyrone’s millage rate was among the lowest in the state. The state average on a $525,000 home collected $1,362.06; Tyrone collected $606.69. He gave a breakdown of the average property tax bill. Most of the tax bill was allocated to the Fayette County Board of Education, then Fayette County, Municipal tax, fire services, emergency services, and the least collect was from E-911. The breakdown per department was public works, police, administration, parks and recreation, planning and zoning, finance, the smallest portion went to court services. He explained that the introduction of House Bill 581 reduced the appraised value growth of homestead properties, which also reduced the millage rate impact. He further explained that, on average, for the last 4 years, Tyrone’s growth rate was at 8.99%; this year, it would average 1.82%. He stated that the impact of one mill on Tyrone would be $709,448, whereas Peachtree City’s would be $4.07 million due to the commercial industry they had. The impact of low tax rates over time affects the town greatly. In 2025, $1 buys about what $.67 did in 2008 when we initially set our current millage rate. Mr. Perkins explained the Georgia Tech study in which the Fayette County Development Authority participated in for the cities showed that a home valued under $502,412 did not cover the cost of services it consumed. For every dollar collected in residential tax revenue, the Town would pay out $1.15 on services for residents. For commercial tax revenues, the Town spends $0.88, and for agricultural, the Town would spend $2.08. The Town’s tax base is 78% residential. The difference last year was a loss of $219,449 from what the Town gained in revenue, as to what was spent on services. He added that 55.47% of homes were below the break-even valuation of $502,412. He shared a few concerns about operating under a low millage rate, rising personnel costs, including benefits, slow tax digest, a rise in fuel, utilities, and supplies, and cost maintaining infrastructure. He added that the construction of the Microsoft center would bring in a little, but not enough. He shared that he and Mr. Trocquet met with our IT contractor yesterday and that it was time to replace the aging servers and thirty computers, which would cost a great deal, along with the IT services. Staff may be able to operate with one less server, but an assessment would need to be made. Page 2 of 4 Mr. Perkins stated that staff already operate lean and cannot further reduce the budget without reducing services. We are still understaffed in finance and public safety. He shared that the property tax revenue was $2 million, and the public safety budget alone was $2.6 million. The personnel budget was $4.2 million. A millage rate increase needs to take place soon, which includes other options like increasing fees. Mr. Perkins stated that the national median wage for full-time employees in 2025 is $65,416, and the Town’s average is $59,945. We are not overpaying and are not overstaffed. Mr. Perkins shared that another factor for increased road repair costs was an increase in asphalt by 39%, a 15% increase in crack seal, and a 52% increase in roadway striping. He shared some considerations. The projected revenue for this year was $2.04 million. If one additional mill was added, it would generate $2.7 million 2 mills (4.889) $3.4 million, and at the state average rate (6.486), would generate $4.6 million. He gave the perspective of the Town pulling $3,900,395.64 from surplus this year to balance the FY26 budget. This would be the equivalent of 5.5 mills. He added that we are currently operating at 8 mills, 6-7 mills without the Pendleton Dam project. Mr. Perkins stated that he recommended maintaining the 2.889 mills for now, mid-term consider increases based on assessed needs, then long term, monitor and adjust accordingly. Council Member Hunter suggested changing the ordinance requiring businesses along the sewer line to tap into the sewer lines. The Town could increase the sewer tap fee line in the budget. Mr. Perkins agreed that the ordinance could be changed to reflect that; however, that would be through the Enterprise Fund. Mr. Perkins stated that Tyrone needed to operate as the successful larger cities, our costs have increased, and our expectations have increased. The ongoing projects will need to be maintained in the future. He added that we are coming into our own, and we need to sustain by acquiring more tax revenue. Council Member Hunter added that with the additional SPLOST projects and maintenance, more public works staff would be needed. Mr. Perkins added that along with other increases the cost of a basic police car had risen exponentially. Council Member Hunter added that over the past few years, we have not had a full staff. If we are ever fully staffed and running as we are currently, it could be problematic. Mr. Perkins added that the hiring process for an office usually took time and resources. Council Member Whelan inquired about the residential development behind Town Hall. Are those homes valued at or above the break-even amount? Mr. Perkins shared that they were going to be approximately $600,000 to $700,000. Mr. Trocquet stated that the Georgia Tech study was just an average and didn’t factor in infrastructure and road frontage, streetlights, and curb and gutter. The new neighborhood should be more profitable because it is at a higher density. There would be two homes per acre, not 1- acre lots. Council Member Campbell shared that the real estate market had slowed considerably. Mr. Perkins gave the example of residential estate zoning such as River Oaks, with 3-acre lots and million-dollar homes, compared to two $600,000 homes on one lot. More would be coming back to the Town to pay for services. Page 3 of 4  Mayor ProTem Furr opened the public hearing for anyone in opposition to the item. No one spoke. Mayor ProTem Furr opened the public hearing for anyone in support of the 2.889 millage rate. No one spoke. Mayor Pro Tem Furr closed the public hearing. IX. OLD BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS XI. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The second public comment period is for any issue. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. XII. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Perkins announced that the last millage-rate public hearing would be held this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and the adoption would follow at 6:30 p.m. XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION XV. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hunter. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell, Council Member Whelan, Council Member Hunter. The meeting adjourned at 9:31 a.m. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 4 of 4