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Fulton County residents showed up in RECORD NUMBERS to express one simple message:
DO. NOT. RAISE. TAXES.
Yet certain Commissioners are now preparing to do exactly that.
The millage rate was set months ago so the 2026 budget would fit within it. Instead, several commissioners are now talking about blowing past it — spending first and forcing a tax hike later. (Renters, be aware tax hikes will raise your rent as well.)
Let’s be clear: There is no $68 million surplus. The $68 million in under-runs from this year, along with the additional $7 million generated from increased property values under a flat millage rate, have already been incorporated into the proposed 2026 budget. These funds are not available as excess reserves or discretionary money — they have been allocated to ongoing operating expenses.
In other words: the money is gone before taxpayers ever see it.
And despite all of that new revenue, the County is still heading toward a financial cliff. Not balance. Not stability. A shortfall.
Why? Because the exploding costs of the jail consent decree are devouring the budget — and several County Commissioners are offering no serious plan to control the damage.
The County’s own finance team is now warning residents to brace for a 0.39 millage rate hike — a 4.39% tax increase.
Higher taxes. Shrinking services. And elected officials who act as if none of it matters.
Instead of tightening their belts, some Commissioners are still shopping with taxpayer money — approving new spending projects as if there’s no crisis coming at all.
If spending continues unchecked, the increase could climb even higher — and homeowners will be left holding the bill.
This isn’t about “budget adjustments.”
This is about ignoring voters.
This is about losing control of spending.
And this is about raising your taxes anyway.
You were promised restraint.
You were promised accountability.
Instead, you’re being handed a tax increase.
This is not a surplus.
This is a warning.
This is what fiscal mismanagement looks like — and taxpayers are about to pay the price.
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