MIDWAY — As the City of Midway looks at its budget for the coming fiscal year, it’s looking at ways to fund its services — including the possibility of enacting a millage rate.
Midway’s fiscal year 2027 begins January 1, 2027, and the city is waiting on what its ISO rating — now that its fire department is a full-time organization — will be for property owners.
“We’re one of the few cities that does not have a millage rate,” Mayor Malcolm Williams said. “We have looked from the top to the bottom. We have cut and done everything we can. This is the last resort.”
Samantha Richardson, chief financial officer for Liberty County, spelled out what a millage rate can do for the city and how much it could raise. Richardson told council members her role wasn’t to tell them whether they should adopt a millage rate.
“That is a policy decision for you all,” she said. “My goal is to help the explain the process so that council can make an informed decision and clearly communicate that decision to the residents of Midway.”
Property is generally assessed at 40% of its value for tax purposes, Richardson said. A house and land valued at $100,000 will be taxed at $40,000, and that’s before any exemptions are applied to the value.
Based on the draft of the tax digest, which has not been approved, a rate of one mill, applied across the entire digest, brings in $80,000 for the city. A millage rate of 4, for example, would bring in $320,000.
Richardson noted there are advantages and disadvantages for the city in enacting a millage rate.
“One of the biggest advantages is a millage provides recurring, stable revenue,” she said. “The city has recurring expenses that have to be paid. Utilities have to be paid. Roads have to be repaired and those costs don’t disappear. It also assists in any long-term planning.”
Without property taxes, Richardson pointed out, the city has to rely more on its existing revenue sources and risk straining those sources. A millage rate is applied to all properties, including commercial, industrial and agricultural.
“Property taxes spread the cost to all properties, so it’s not just homeowners,” she said.
There are disadvantages as well, Richardson noted.
“It is a new tax,” she said. “It would create a new expense we haven’t seen. Property values can change from year to year.”
For instance, a home with a value of $100,000, with no exemptions, would lead to $160 a year in property taxes at a millage rate of 4.
Should Midway put a property tax in place, property owners could see their county property tax reduced — state law requires the county to roll back its millage rate when there is a duplication of services, such as fire protection.
Richardson recommended seeing what the city’s expenses are and then seeing if funding gaps are left when their other sources of revenue are applied.
“There isn’t a right or wrong millage rate,” she said. “It depends on the level of service the city wants to provide and how much it costs.”
Richardson also said council members — if they adopt a property tax should be ready to detail to residents what they are getting in return.
“If the council decides to move forward with a millage rate, have a list of expenditures or services you plan to use with those revenues. It would show the residents how you plan to use the money,” she said.
Among that is the fire department, which is one of the city’s biggest expenses, and the pending ISO rating. Currently, the city has a rating of 10. But Chief Craig Reynolds expects the next rating to come in much lower, and the lower the ISO rating, the lower a property owner could pay on fire insurance.
“The taxpayers deserve the best protection possible,” Chief Reynolds said. “We have worked diligently with the ISO evaluators.”
The ISO evaluators look at such things as water supply, manpower and equipment in determining a rating, and the Midway chief expects having a full-time department with its new trucks will result in a much better rating.
“Once we get the ISO, you’ll be impressed,” he said.
The city also is growing at a rapid pace, Mayor Williams pointed out, and he used the coming Love’s Travel Store at the Interstate 95 exit as an example. That facility is expected to be open later this year, and more development could be coming to that exit.
“In five years, you will be shocked at what is going to happen at this exit,” he said. “You will be shocked at the growth.”
Council members also approved new garbage pickup rates for the city, going from $16.50 per cart per month to $18.15 per cart per month. The costs, Mayor Williams said, are being passed on from Atlantic Waste, which cited rising diesel fuel prices and the rising cost of waste disposal.