Soperton City Council Considers Increase in City’s Millage Rate

The Soperton City Council met on Monday, October 20, and their main topic of discussion was the possibility of increasing the city’s millage rate.

Mayor Koon stated right now the city is running off the 1980’s rate of just a little over 3 mils, which brings in less than $300,000 annually. He feels the city needs to seriously look at an increase of at least 1 to 2 mils to bring the city’s revenues up to a more realistic level. The Mayor went on to explain that even though the city does receive SPLOST funding, those dollars can only be spent on certain projects and cannot be spent on expenses such as salaries, which included pay as well as the paying in of state and federal taxes and providing health care coverage for city employees. A motion was made and carried that the subject of the increase in millage rate be tabled until another date to allow for further discussion.

Another topic on the agenda was the collection of back taxes owed to the city. The city can reach back 7 years for the collection of unpaid taxes, and at Monday night's meeting, the Council agreed to model the city's delinquent tax collection efforts after the county's collection process.

Citizens in attendance asked the council members how they could stay informed of the council's activities. The mayor responded by saying anything regarding city government by law has to be placed in at least one local newspaper. The city also maintains a social media Facebook page and is accessible through the Text My Government notifying system. The Mayor encouraged everyone to sign up for city text notices by going to text.gov then type in '91896 Soperton' which would allow them to start receiving the texts.

Work on Tiger Creek will start this week at the south end of Louisiana Street at the nursery and bridge area and then continue toward Highway 46 by clearing the creek beds, removing debris and fallen trees. Beavers will have to be trapped to prevent them from continuing to build dams that block the creek flow. The projected deadline for completion of the clearing stage is Dec 1.

The Second Street paving project is well under way; Troup, Bell, and Forest Streets are next on the paving list. East Georgia Asphalt headquartered in Douglas is the contractor for the paving projects.

In other business, Mayor Koon reported that the city is beginning the bid process for work to be done at the old recreational facility. He also reported that much work has been done at Iva Park in preparation for the upcoming festival. Mayor Koon expressed his gratitude to the festival committee for their efforts and the many visitors it will bring to the city.

In addition, the city Fire and Police Departments will be in the Elementary School this week taking part in the Trunk or TREAT event.

The city’s official Trick or Treat night is scheduled for Thursday night. The city’s Christmas tree lightening is scheduled for the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 29. The next scheduled City Council meeting is Monday, November 3, 2025.