DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The Dahlonega City Council held its first two public hearings on a proposed one mil increase to 6.781 to support the Fiscal Year 2017 budget Tuesday. The increase is 17.26 percent over the rollback millage rate. Council held a morning and evening session.

There were no public speakers at the meeting. In fact, the only attendees were reporters covering the event. So council members spent the time doing what elected officials all across the state are doing at this time of year; discussing the most fiscally responsible way to maintain or improve services to their citizens.

Councilman Sam Norton said he does not oppose a millage increase, but would like to see council better define how it will be used. “I know we’ve got some of that earmarked for public safety but if we can define that a little better, I’d be more inclined to support it.”

Norton said he would also like to see a proposed 21 percent increase in sanitation costs reduced to 5 percent per year over a four-year period. “I think that is too big a hit to do all at one time,” he said. “I’d like council to consider doing a 5 percent increase four times.”

The board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax when the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value and adjust the assessment. When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must 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 reassessment occurred.

Georgia law also requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase. The council held the second meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The final meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at which time council is expected to set the millage rate.