Hinesville is cutting its millage rate, but the city still will have to three public hearings on a tax increase.

The city is cutting its millage to 9.98, its lowest in 50 years, but the cut was not enough to account for the increase in the property tax digest.

The rollback rate — that millage rate which when applied to the tax digest means no net gain in property taxes for the city — is 9.703 mills.

“Our budget could not support that low of a millage rate,” city chief financial officer Kim Ryon told council members.

City staff is recommending a millage rate reduction, a little bit lower than the one council members discussed in budget hearings.

By state law, the city must hold three public hearings on the matter. At least one of the hearings has to be held before 12 noon and another hearing must start between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The city can hold two hearings on the same day.

The city has scheduled the three hearings for 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on November 13 and 3 p.m. on November 20. The last of the meetings will take place during a regular council meeting.

At a millage rate of 9.98, the increase in property taxes for a home valued at $100,000 is approximately $11.08 and for a home with a fair market value of $150,000, the additional property tax is $16.62.

With the 9.98 millage rate applied to the digest, the city expects to collect more than $11.6 million in property taxes, a 7.11% increase over 2024. The increase from the previous year is the smallest by percentage since 2021.

The city’s real and personal tax digest has grown from just over $650 million in 2020 to more than $1.1 billion in 2025, a 73% growth.