Town Council Meeting - Special Called Millage Meeting - Revised

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING - SPECIAL CALLED MILLAGE MEETING MINUTES August 15, 2023 at 5:00 PM Eric Dial, Mayor Gloria Furr, Mayor Pro Tem, Post 4 Linda Howard, Post 1 Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Melissa Hill, Post 2 Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Mr. Davenport was absent. Also present: Sandy Beach, Finance/HR Manager Phillip Trocquet, Assistant Town Manager 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 Hill. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Furr. 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. Consideration to set the 2023 millage rate for the Town of Tyrone. Town Council Meeting - Special Called Millage Meeting - Revised Page 1 of 4 August 15, 2023  Mr. Perkins informed everyone that the Fayette County Board of Education (FCBOE) received most of your tax bill at 62.5% (19.150 mills), the school bond was at 2.8% (0.850 mills), Fayette County received 13.1% (4.034), Fire 10% (3.070), EMS 1.5% (0.456), E911 .7% (0.210), leaving the Town the remainder at 9.4% (2.889 mills). He explained that Tyrone and Brooks paid for fire and emergency services, and everyone paid for E911. Peachtree City did not pay these taxes as they have their services. Fayetteville did not pay the fire tax because it had its fire department. Mr. Perkins added that Tyrone had the lowest millage rate in the County and one of the lowest in the state, the average being 8.7 mills. Our citizens pay more due to the add-ons. He shared that Tyrone would receive an estimated $1,866.456 in property taxes which was only 10.6% of the Town's operating budget. He broke that amount down further. Public works were at 54.3%, which included road paving, dam repair, stormwater, infrastructure, vehicle and equipment repair, and building maintenance. The public safety and court were at 20.5%. He added that the operating fund for the police and court was $2 Million. He shared that administration was at 17.3%, which also included HR, finance, and planning and zoning. Lastly, leisure services such as library, museum, and recreation were at 7.9%. Mr. Perkins explained further that the average home value in Tyrone was at $321,000 and the Town would receive approximately 40% which would equate to $373.37 in property taxes. Of this amount, $202.37 would be allocated to the public works department, $76.54 for public safety and court, $64.60 to administration, and $29.49 to the library, recreation, and museum combined. He stated that if passed, Tyrone's millage rate would have remained the same for 16 years in a row. He added that Peachtree City’s millage rate was 6.043, Fayetteville's was 5.646, Fayette County’s was 4.034, and Brooks’s was at 1.207. He stated that the information that he just shared would be placed on the Town's website soon. Mayor Dial noted that the Town did not dedicate resources for any particular section of the Town, it was allocated appropriately with no bias. Mayor Dial opened the public hearing for anyone that wished to speak in favor of keeping the millage rate the same. Mr. Bernie Coston who lives on Westbourne Dr. shared that he had been a resident for 20 years. He stated that as long as he had been a resident, the Town operated with a surplus of funds. He added that anytime there was a surplus, those funds should be used as part of the budget. His concern was if Tyrone would be using that surplus as well as the funding received from the increase of the millage, that way everyone would be paying their fair share. He stated that the average home was a little over $300,000, the average home in River Oaks far exceeded that amount and in Phase II, homes were over $1 Million. The increase would greatly affect them. Mr. Virgil Fludd who lives on Castle Lake Drive shared that he was also a 20-year resident in the Town. He stated that no one wanted to see a tax increase, however, there were situations where it made sense. He wanted to see where the funding was being allocated. Page 2 of 4  He reiterated what Mr. Perkins had mentioned that the Town was gaining $1.87 Million in property tax revenue. He was interested in what the Town received in LOST revenue, which was designed to offset the property tax revenue. He added that he would be comfortable with increasing the millage rate for specific purposes. He mentioned that most Tyrone downtown businesses were closed by mid-day on Saturdays. He added that it was depressing. If there was going to be a millage rate or property tax increase, we need to create opportunities for people to be downtown and spend money and enjoy our great and unique community. Mayor Dial clarified that the millage rate was proposed to stay the same and that property taxes were increasing. Mayor Dial opened the public hearing for anyone that wished to speak in opposition to the item. Ms. Jessica Whelan who lives on Valleywood Road thanked Council for keeping the millage rate the same for the past 16 years. She thanked Council for their conservative spending and for having reserves. She stated that the Town's website indicated an increase of 9.41 for 2023 which would result in an additional $160,566 she added that the County Commissioners increased to nearly 700,000 in net tax total per year. She stated that it would average $117,000 a year. She added that the Fayette County voters approved the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). SPLOST funding benefited the Town with $2 Million above projections and should do the same for the next 5 years. She stated that with ongoing price increases for clothing, gas, food, and rising interest rates, everyone has had to cut back. She asked Council to consider being a trendsetter and to vote for a partial roll-back of the millage rate giving the citizens a tax break. It would speak volumes to the citizens. The tax base would continue to rise and more people would choose Tyrone for their homes and businesses. The roll-back along with SPLOST, grants, and other income streams would keep the Town in good shape and moving forward. Mayor Dial 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 Ms. Beach informed everyone that the next public hearing would be on Thursday, August 17th at 6:30 pm, before the regular Council meeting where Council would then adopt the millage rate. Page 3 of 4 XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS Council Member Hill welcomed her 97-year-old father that was in attendance from Florida. XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION XV. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Campbell. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill, Council Member Furr. The meeting adjourned at 5:23 pm. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 4 of 4