Hinesville City Council members are expected to cut the city’s millage rate, after being presented their draft budget for the coming fiscal year and their proceeds from the floating local option sales tax.
The city took in nearly $1.98 million through FLOST from February through June. Under a change to the state law, instead of waiting for a full year of collections, local governments can take what they collected through June 30 and apply that amount to a millage rate rollback.
Mayor Karl Riles pointed out the period covered by the current FLOST collections includes some of the leaner months in sales tax revenue, suggesting a full year of collections could mean a higher average and a bigger rollback.
“It doesn’t include summer shopping. It doesn’t include Christmas season shopping,” he said.
City chief financial officer Kim Ryon estimated that over a full year, the FLOST collections would equal 4.3 mills.
“Hopefully that is something we can anticipate for next year,” she said.
For the city, their FLOST collections over five months resulted in a projected rollback of 1.66 mills. The city’s current millage rate is 9.98 mills, and the millage rate used for property tax revenue in the draft FY27 budget is 8.3 mills.
The city’s proposed general fund budget stands at $34.1 million, a 5.9% increase from the current budget of $32.2 million. The water and sewer fund’s proposed budget is $13.2 million, with Liberty Transit at $2.8 million and the special purpose local option sales tax budget at $1.95 million. The city’s total proposed budget, with its general fund and enterprise funds combined, is $61.9 million.
Ryon said there will be no increases to water and sewer rates as a result, though there is an increase in the cost of installing potable and reuse water meters.
All funds are balanced, Ryon said.
The budget anticipates a 2.5% growth in the tax digest and a 5% growth in the city’s local option sales tax, or LOST, revenue.
The proposed budget calls for the city to collect just under $9.9 million in property taxes, down from $11 million for FY26.
The budget also includes a 2.2% cost of living adjustment for city employees. The consumer price index for the South region in July was 3.2%, but city budget planners were not able to recommend the COLA match the CPI this year.
In the general fund budget, the city plans to add a logistics chief to the fire department, starting January 1, two additional fire fighters to start August 1, 2027 and take one code enforcement officer from part-time to full-time. A permit technician in the inspections department is planned to go from part-time to full-time.
Included in the water-sewer fund budget is the purchase of a vac truck at $750,000, to be financed over seven years, along with the purchase of a new garbage truck and a street sweeper under the sanitation and storm water utility funds.
Liberty Transit employees also will get a 2.2% COLA and that budget will include the addition of a road supervisor, dispatcher and bus operator. Those three positions will begin July 1, 2027.
Liberty Transit will continue to offer free service on its routes through September 2027.