DEMOREST — The Demorest City Council voted Thursday to approve its 2026 budget and adopt a full rollback of its property tax rate, marking an 8% decrease from last year.
The council unanimously approved the budget and a millage rate of 6.593 mills, down from 7.16 in 2025. The rollback reflects the city’s effort to ease the tax burden on residents during what several council members described as a difficult year for many households.
Councilman Donnie Bennett said the decision came after a close review of the city’s finances and conversations with residents.
“I have looked at these as I encouraged my council members to do a deep pour on them,” Bennett said. “This is a tough year. It’s been a tough situation. I think that the full rollback is a good idea … just for the people of Demorest that are on fixed income while we can.”
Councilman Shawn Allen said the move demonstrates the city’s fiscal restraint at a time when many nearby governments have increased tax rates.
“I think every city around us has either maintained or increased their millage rate this year,” Allen said. “So the fact that we are considering a budget where we’re going to have a full rollback speaks to how careful we are with taxpayers’ money.”
City Manager Mark Musselwhite said the rollback underscores Demorest’s financial discipline and sets the city apart from others across the region.
“It will be exciting to see, with the city of Demorest doing the full rollback, if y’all continue down that path,” Musselwhite said. “As you look at other cities and other counties, not just here, that will speak volumes to what we’re doing.”
The 2026 budget reinstates a position in the Demorest Police Department at a cost of $67,081.91.
Demorest Fire Services
The 2026 budget includes no separate funding for the city’s fire department beyond payments to Habersham County under a recent intergovernmental agreement for fire protection services.
That agreement, finalized earlier this month, transferred fire operations to the county after Demorest voted to dissolve its fire department, ending months of negotiations over staffing and service costs.
Only one resident, city council candidate Patti Davis, spoke during the hearing. She questioned a $13,600 line item for code enforcement previously handled by the fire department.
“Since the fire department’s no longer going to be in existence, and the county’s going to be doing it, is that $13,600 going to go away? Are you going to have to hire somebody? Is the county going to do that as part of the agreement?” Davis asked.
Musselwhite said the city has not made a final decision but may hire a part-time employee to handle the duties.
“My thought is to look for a part-time [person], because it’s not an everyday job,” he said. “It’s probably one day in the field and one day doing paperwork in a week’s time.”
