Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 19, 2025

On August 20, 1781, General George Washington sent Continental troops from New York toward Yorktown, Virginia to engage British troops under Gen. Cornwallis.

USS Constitution earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” in battle against the British ship Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia on August 19, 1812. Launched in 1797, Constitution is today the oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy. Live oak from St. Simons Island were cut and milled for timber used in the constructions of Constitution. From a 1977 New York Times article:

The Constitution won her way into Americans’ hearts in 1812, when she defeated the British Guerriere off Nova Scotia in an exchange of broadsides. The spirit of the Constitution crew was noted by the Guerriere’s commander, James Dacres, who boarded the Constitution to present his sword in surrender.

“I will not take your sword, Sir,” the captain of the Constitution, Isaac Hull, replied. ”But I will trouble you for your hat.”

In the battle, a sailor — whether British or American is disputed by historians — is said to have cried out, ”Huzzah, her sides are made of iron!” as he watched an English cannonball bounce off the side of the Constitution. It was the birth of her nickname.

Part of the ship’s secret lay in the wood used in the design by Joshua Humphreys. He picked live oak, from St. Simons Island, Ga. The wood has proved so strong and resistant to rot that the original hull is intact, said Anne Grimes Rand, curator of the Constitution Museum in Charlestown, Mass.

On August 20, 1906, Gov. Joseph Terrell signed legislation to build a statue of Georgia founding father James Oglethorpe in Savannah and a bill to build a statue of former Confederate General and Georgia Governor John B. Gordon at the State Capitol.

The Georgia Department of Insurance was created on August 19, 1912 when Governor Joseph Brown signed legislation regulating companies selling policies in the states.

Governor Nathaniel Harris signed the first state law requiring school attendance for children 8-14 years of age on August 19, 1916; on the same day, Harris also signed legislation authorizing women to practice law in Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Archives and History was created by legislation signed by Georgia Governor Hugh Dorsey on August 20, 1918.

On August 20, 1920, the American Professional Football Association, which would later be renamed the National Football League, was formed in Akron, Ohio.

“Georgia” was designated the official state song on August 19, 1922 with Gov. Thomas Hardwick’s signature on a joint resolution passed by the General Assembly; in 1979, “Georgia On My Mind,” replaced it.

On August 20, 1923, Georgia Governor Clifford Walker signed legislation requiring state schools teach the United States and Georgia Constitutions and students pass an exam on the documents before being allowed to graduate.

Adolf Hitler became President of Germany on August 19, 1934.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency supported a coup in Iran that restored the Shah of Iran on August 19, 1953.

On August 20, 1965, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones was released in the UK.

 

On August 20, 1974, President Gerald Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President of the United States.

On August 19, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford was nominated for President by the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Ford received 1,157 (52.6%) delegates to 1,087 for Ronald Reagan (47.4%). Georgia’s 48 delegates voted for Reagan on the first ballot.

On August 19, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

On the same day, Dr. Betty Siegel became the first female President of a state college or university in Georgia when she was named President of Kennesaw College on August 19, 1981; under her leadership, it became Kennesaw State University in 1996. Siegel served until 2006. Kennesaw State was recently named the 4th best college for food in the nation.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Vice President JD Vance will speak in Peachtree City on Thursday, according to the AJC.

Vice President JD Vance will visit metro Atlanta on Thursday to promote the president’s signature tax-and-spending law, hoping to define the administration’s keystone legislative victory to voters in one of the nation’s most competitive battlegrounds.

Vance is set to headline a midday event at an industrial refrigeration manufacturer in Peachtree City. He will address Republican National Committee members in Atlanta earlier in the day.

The trip comes at a volatile moment in Georgia politics, as early battle lines are already forming in Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection battle. Ossoff staunchly opposed the “big, beautiful” legislation that President Donald Trump made a top priority, and he’s working to mobilize a coalition of voters against it in 2026.

Mainstream conservatives and MAGA politicians in Georgia united to back the measure, which rolls back key pillars of President Joe Biden’s policy legacy while extending roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts enacted in Trump’s first term.

Republicans say it fulfills key Trump campaign vows, including eliminating income taxes on tips, gutting clean energy incentives and increasing military and immigration enforcement spending.

To cover some of the bill’s cost, the legislation slashes $1 trillion from Medicaid and cuts the federal food stamp program. The health policy research group KFF projects roughly 310,000 Georgians could lose insurance under the bill.

The trip marks Vance’s second to Georgia since he and Trump carried the state in November. He has become one of the administration’s top salesmen for the law, which could also bolster his own future ambitions.

But Republicans face challenges shaping public opinion to a skeptical audience. A July survey by Public Policy Polling found 52% of Georgia voters said they would be less likely to support the law after hearing Democratic messaging about its cuts. A Senate GOP group is pouring $5 million into an ad blitz to slam Ossoff for voting against it.

From the AJC Political Insider:

He’s the latest senior White House official to visit the west Georgia district represented by first-term U.S. Rep. Brian Jack, a former adviser to President Donald Trump who is a rising GOP star in state and national politics.

Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, the former U.S. senator from Georgia, joined Jack in April for a tour of Troup County firms. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright trekked to Spalding County in May to celebrate legislation rolling back energy efficiency standards.

And Trump visited the district for the first time in his political career in October, when he hosted a faith town hall event at Christ Church in Zebulon.

Vance’s visit to Peachtree City – Jack’s hometown – is the first trip by a sitting vice president to Fayette County since Dan Quayle visited Fayette County High School in 1992. Turns out that was quite the day for high-level trips to Georgia.

Police blotter: Columbus mayoral candidate Steven Kelly pled guilty to reduced charges, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Columbus mayoral candidate Steven Kelly pleaded guilty to a charge that was amended from simple battery to reckless conduct during a hearing Friday in State Court.

Kelly was arrested for simple battery in June after a domestic altercation with his wife, who also was arrested. The simple batter charge against Kelly’s wife was dismissed this month.

She testified in Kelly’s defense during the hearing, and her mother also attended to support Kelly. Kelly’s wife told the judge that she believes Kelly was only arrested for his behavior when she was being arrested.

She corroborated Kelly’s statement that he “did not strike” his wife.

Since her case had been dismissed, Kelly hoped his case would be as well. But the prosecutors did not think it was right to dismiss the case because alcohol was involved, Solicitor General Shevon Thomas told the Ledger-Enquirer.

Along with agreeing to plead guilty to reckless conduct, Kelly also was ordered by Judge Pythias Temesgen to attend weekly courses on domestic violence and alcohol abuse for six months.

Former Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap took the oath of office as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Heap was sworn-in as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia after being appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi as the post’s interim attorney, effective Aug. 18, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Georgia. Heap’s swearing in took place at the U.S. Courthouse in Augusta, Ga.

“I am incredibly honored to serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia,” Heap said in the press release. “I look forward to working with our partners in law enforcement to make this a safer place to live and raise our children.”

The Southern District of Georgia includes two of the state’s largest metropolitan areas outside of Atlanta: Savannah and Augusta. The district spans 46 of Georgia’s 159 counties and has a population of 1.6 million people, according to the press release.

The Southern District of Georgia is based in Savannah. Heap will prosecute federal crimes within the district and defend the U.S. in civil cases filed in the district court, according to the press release.

Heap takes the post with extensive experience in the justice system. During her time as Chatham County DA, Heap was named in 2019 as District Attorney of the Year by the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia.

Current Chatham County DA Shalena Cook Jones defeated Heap for the county’s top prosecutor role in 2020.

From WRDW:

Before her appointment, Heap served as chair and vice chair of Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles after being named to the panel in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp.

United States Representative Mike Collins (R-Jackson) is supported by the family of the late Laken Riley, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The family of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student tragically killed in early 2024, has officially endorsed U.S. Representative Mike Collins in his run for the U.S. Senate.

“A lot of people go to Washington and it changes them. However, in the short time that we have known him, Mike Collins went to Washington and changed it,” said Allyson Riley and John Phillips, the mother and stepfather of Riley in the press release.

“There is simply no one else in this race who deserves to be in the US Senate more than Mike Collins,” the family added. “He is someone who says what he means, means what he says, and actually delivers results that matter.”

Collins spearheaded the Laken Riley Act, the first law signed into action under Trump’s second term.

The law, according to congress.gov, states: “Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.”

The DeKalb County Board of Elections set early voting dates for November’s municipal elections, according to Decaturish.

Early voting for the upcoming municipal elections will begin Oct. 14 and run through Oct. 31.

Polls will be open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 4.

Candidate qualifying is Aug. 18-22.

Voters can begin requesting an absentee ballot Aug. 18. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 6, and the last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 24.

Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office continues working to purge inactive voters’ registrations, according to the AJC.

Georgia’s mass cancellation of inactive voter registrations this year — one of the largest in U.S. history — targets people who likely moved away and didn’t vote in the last two general elections. But the cancellation effort comes with a risk that eligible voters could get swept up in the process.

Eligible voters on this year’s cancellation list face a Wednesday deadline to keep their registrations from being canceled.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of voter data found that, in recent years, about one in five Georgians removed from the rolls rejoined.

About 210,000 voters canceled in previous biennial removals from 2017 to 2023 reregistered to vote in Georgia, and over half of them still live in the same county, according to the AJC analysis.

Voters who reregistered include people who left Georgia and then moved back, signed up to vote again when renewing their driver’s licenses, or registered again in advance of major elections.

“Things are constantly in a state of churn,” said Trey Hood, a political scientist at the University of Georgia. “There’s constantly people that are getting added to the rolls. There’s constantly people that are getting subtracted from the rolls.”

The voting rights group Fair Fight called the cancellations “voter suppression by administrative process” that disproportionately affects Black voters.

Overall, Black voters’ registrations account for 32% of cancellations, slightly more than their 31% of all registrants in Georgia. But Black voter registrations make up a higher rate, 41%, of those being canceled because they haven’t participated in elections in several years, the AJC found.

However, just because Black voters make up a higher share of voters flagged for cancellation doesn’t necessarily mean there’s discrimination, said Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University.

“Nonvoting rates do tend to be higher in communities of color, so it’s not surprising that you might see higher levels of nonvoting that make you subject to purging,” Gillespie said.

Nearly 106,000 voters are scheduled for cancellation because of the “use it or lose it” law, amounting to 22% of the total planned registration removals.

Voters aged 30-44 are roughly twice as likely as any other age group to appear on the cancellation list, making up 44% of voters scheduled for removal.

Georgia voters can check their registration status through the AJC’s voter cancellation search tool and find their registration information on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

Voters can restore their registrations to “active” status and prevent cancellations by filling out information on the My Voter Page, responding to notification letters mailed last month or contacting their county election office.

You can check your voter registration status by logging in to https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

ICE rides shotgun may sound like a 1990s NWA lyric, but the AJC headline reads: In Savannah, ICE rides shotgun with local police to find and arrest immigrants.

In two separate June 11 incidents, police reports show federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents worked hand-in-hand with local Chatham County police patrols to find and detain immigrants — with one of the reports specifying the ICE agent was riding shotgun in the patrol car with the officer.

As the Trump administration ratchets up the pressure on immigration officials to boost arrest and deportation numbers, close collaboration between federal and local law enforcement agencies has helped drive apprehensions, particularly in Republican-led states.

But ICE agents riding in local patrol vehicles marks a significant departure from the kind of cooperation that has become the norm in Georgia, which mostly plays out in county jails. It’s a level of synergy that immigration attorneys and advocates say has previously been unheard-of, but that Trump alluded to as a goal on the campaign trail.

“I’d be using local police,” Trump told reporters in July 2024 when discussing his plans to create a mass deportation program. “They know everything about the criminals, and you’d certainly start with the heavyset criminals.”

In Georgia, a 2024 law has resulted in unauthorized immigrants being systematically flagged to ICE for potential pickup and deportation whenever they are booked into county jails, including over traffic violations. ICE agents riding in local police cars goes beyond the requirements of that bill.

“This is the first time I heard of ICE riding along during routine patrol,” said Gigi Pedraza, executive director of the Atlanta-based Latino Community Fund. “I was really shocked. And it raises some questions like: ‘Has this been happening all along?’”

Betsy Nolen, spokesperson for the Chatham County Police Department, described the June 11 operations as isolated events.

“The Chatham County Police Department does not have a formal partnership with ICE/Homeland Security, nor do we make it a practice to have ICE agents ride as passengers in patrol vehicles,” she said in a statement. “June 11, 2025, was the only time ICE agents have ridden along with Chatham County Police Department patrol units.”

Nolen added that it is “not unusual” for the Chatham County Police Department to help when another law enforcement agency asks for assistance. In this case, she said the Department of Homeland Security had made a request “for law enforcement assistance in the Quacco Road area,” an area of the county with a large Hispanic population.

Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts proposed a $1.1 billion dollar new detention facility, according to the AJC.

Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts is proposing a new facility on the grounds of the troubled Rice Street jail that would house up to 1,800 inmates with medical, mental health or other special needs.

The new building and repairs to the existing jail are expected to cost $1.1 billion. Pitts said most of the money will come from revenues Fulton will receive as its tax allocation districts expire.

The county forgoes property tax revenue in its tax allocation districts. The money is instead invested in development within the districts.

“This plan for the future of the jail prioritizes the needs of detainees who need the most care,” Pitts said Monday at a news conference. “It also mitigates the financial impact to taxpayers compared to building a new jail.”

The County Commission will vote Wednesday on the proposal. Approval would kick off a planning process that includes community engagement. Construction would begin sometime in 2027 and end in 2030, according to county documents.

MARTA Board member Thomas Worthy says he will resign from that board to run for Atlanta City Council, according to the AJC.

Thomas Worthy made the announcement Thursday during what will be his last board meeting. Worthy, who has served on the board for almost a decade, said stepping down while he’s actively campaigning is “in the best interests of the authority and this board.”

“The nine years on this board has been a really, really meaningful experience to me and has made me a true believer in the authority and the role of public transit as we move our region forward,” Worthy said.

Worthy, an executive at Piedmont Healthcare, was originally appointed to MARTA’s board in 2016 by then-Gov. Nathan Deal. He was reappointed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The governor has one appointment on the 13-member board, in addition to two state officials who sit on the board in a nonvoting, ex officio capacity.

Worthy’s term expired last December, but Kemp has not appointed a successor. MARTA’s governing legislation says that members shall serve until a successor is appointed.

Worthy told the board he intends to submit his resignation this week, which is when he will formally file to run for the Atlanta City Council District 7 seat. Worthy is seeking to replace longtime Council member Howard Shook, who is not seeking a seventh term.

A Kemp spokesperson said the governor intends to appoint a successor quickly, in a “swift, but thorough process,” once Worthy tenders his resignation.

Worthy is one of the longer-serving members on MARTA’s board, and was its chairman during 2022. More recently, he’s been leading an ad hoc committee studying new potential revenue streams for MARTA, which largely relies on a sales tax for funding operations.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will campaign in Savannah, according to WTOC.

Bottoms will join Savannah Mayor Van Johnson to visit local small businesses and hold a meet-and-greet in Savannah.

The stops are part of Bottoms’ gubernatorial campaign’s “Standing Up for Georgia” tour across the state.

Mayors Bottoms and Johnson will kick off the day with a Savannah small business walk, visiting African goods store Diaspora Marketplace at and local restaurant Kim’s Cafe.

Later in the evening, Johnson and Bottoms will host a meet and greet with Savannah community members at Temple of Glory Community Church.

Bottoms is traveling the state for her “Standing Up for Georgia Tour” this summer and fall, where she is hearing directly from Georgians on what matters most to them and discussing her plans as governor to stand up for Georgians and make the state more affordable.

State Senator Jason Esteves campaigned in Augusta, according to WJBF.

Democratic State Senator and candidate for governor Jason Esteves made a stop in Augusta at the Henry Brigham Community Center on Monday, Aug. 18.

The meet-and-greet was hosted by State Senator Harold Jones II.

It’s part of Senator Esteves’ statewide tour to build support for his campaign and earn key endorsements. During the event, he talked about what he believes Georgians are looking for in a governor.

“The thing is that Georgians are ready for a new generation of leadership,” said Esteves. “They’re ready for a governor that cuts through the chaos, that prioritizes our people, prioritizes Georgians, and makes sure that we’re cutting the cost of living all across the state, but also investing in our families, investing in our dreams so that our children have more opportunities and what we have. So Georgians wants a governor that is going to focus in ourselves, focus on our families. I believe that a Democratic governor will do that.”

Raymond L. Harris, Jr. qualifed to run against Statesboro Mayor Johnathan McCollar, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Incumbent Rome City Commissioners Elaina Beeman and Randy Quick qualified for reelection, according to WRGA News.

During the first day of qualifying on Monday, two incumbents on the Rome city commission signed up to run again.

They are Elaina Beeman and Randy Quick.

Three Ward two seats will be on the ballot in November.

For the Rome City School Board, all seven seats are up for grabs.

On Monday, incumbent Alvin Jackson qualified along with two challengers, Marquita Davis and Ron Roach.

Qualifying will run until Friday at 4:30 PM at the Rome City Clerk’s office at Rome City Hall.

The fee to run for the city commission is $360. The fee to run for the school board is $180.

Qualifying is also taking place this week in Cave Spring.

On the ballot are Post 3, held by Jason West; Post 4, held by Charles Jackson; and Post 5, held by Steven Pierce.

The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Recovery Residences held their first meeting, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Athens Banner Herald.

Centers that offer services to people experiencing addiction could face more regulation in Georgia, as lawmakers investigate how they operate and whether they are effective enough.

“There are rehab centers all over the state of Georgia that are not meeting the standard that we feel should be there,” state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, chairman of the Senate Study Committee on Recovery Residences, said Monday during the panel’s first meeting at the state Capitol.

Robertson and a handful of his Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle concurred that there is work to be done.

They heard from Dr. James Craig, a medical doctor and addiction specialist, during a three-hour meeting that explored the genetic and environmental links to substance abuse.

Craig said society treats addiction like an ethical or moral failing, yet it is a medical condition, marked by physical changes in the brain that stem from exposure to the stress hormone cortisol and other causes beyond a person’s control. A war on drugs would reduce the scope of addiction about as well as a war on candy bar sales would reduce the prevalence of diabetes, he said.

“The vast majority of people that are entering the penal system right now, the vast majority, meet diagnostic criteria for the disease of addiction, which is something that, at least as an addictionologist, I see as a massive human rights violation,” he said. “We’re putting people with a mental illness in a cage.”

Craig said treatment facilities too often return patients to their communities well before they have control over their addiction, whether to alcohol, a drug or something else. It can take a year or more to return the brain’s chemistry to a normal baseline, yet these programs typically last a month, he said.

Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, said residential treatment facilities are not regulated by the state. That is a concern for the retired orthopedic surgeon.

“The problem right now is we don’t even know where all these things are,” she said. “We don’t even know who’s running them.”

Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, said the General Assembly has the power to require “fair labeling” of treatment facilities.

“It shouldn’t just be based on Yelp reviews,” said Jackson, the Senate’s minority whip.

Robertson, the Senate’s majority whip, said the General Assembly regulates too much but that this is “life and death” and too many of these facilities “have been run terribly,” so the issue merits a closer look.

Representatives of the facilities were not present to defend themselves, but Robertson said their leaders will be invited to the next hearing, which has not been scheduled. The hearings will eventually include the insurance industry and affected families, he said.

Mental health advocates lauded Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King for his enforcement of mental health parity laws, according to Georgia Recorder.

Mental health advocates gathered at the state Capitol in Atlanta to urge Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King to step up enforcement of the state’s mental health parity laws just a few days after King’s office announced it would fine health insurance companies $20 million for failing to comply.

The fines, announced Friday, mark the first major instance of the state enforcing a 2022 law aimed at ensuring that insurers cover mental health care alongside its coverage for physical health.

Georgia residents have long faced barriers when it comes to seeking mental health treatment. The state ranks 47th in the nation for access to mental health care, according to an annual report from Mental Health America, and nearly 35% of adults with frequent mental distress said they could not seek care because of the cost – with Georgia ranking last on that metric.

King’s office, which is tasked with ensuring that insurance companies comply with Georgia regulations, said it found over 6,000 violations involving 22 different insurance providers. Companies can be fined up to $2,000 for every violation, or up to $5,000 per violation if they knew or reasonably could have known they were violating the law.

“The time to get in compliance with the law was yesterday,” King said in a statement Friday. “Today, we are taking decisive action to hold those who think they can skirt the law accountable.”

A spokesperson for the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire declined to name which insurers had received fines, saying that more information would become available once the final orders had been issued.

Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act was signed into law in 2022, and was aimed at improving enforcement of a 2008 federal law requiring health insurance companies to treat behavioral health benefits on par with physical care, meaning that deductibles, co-pays or limits on the number of visits or days of hospitalization should be the same for both mental and physical services.

The law also mandates that Georgia’s Office of Insurance and Safety Fire conduct an in-depth review of insurer data and submit an annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House of Representatives every August. This year’s report has not yet been publicly posted.

At a rally for mental health parity outside King’s office Monday, advocates called for greater enforcement of Georgia’s existing parity law and urged King to uphold other aspects of the legislation, including a requirement that the commissioner’s office establish a separate portal for parity-related complaints.

“It’s the parity law, not the parity recommendation or suggestion,” said Jeff Breedlove, the strategic policy advisor for the Georgia Council for Recovery. “It is a privilege for an insurance company to do business in the state of Georgia and serve Georgia families, not a right. And if you want to profit off of Georgians, then you need to at the very least follow our laws.”

And while mental health advocates said they were excited by King’s announcement, many also expressed disappointment in the outcome.

“I’m a little underwhelmed by it,” said Roland Behm, one of the co-founders of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership, adding that the $20 million fines will be split between the numerous insurance companies who failed to comply with the law.

“We’re looking at individual insurers bearing a cost of about a million dollars,” Behm said. “And once again, while more than I have in my checking account, it’s not really a lot of money in the context of insurers who might begin to think that the best thing for them to do is to not comply with the parity act and then just pay whatever fines might be assessed.”

Georgia state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Decatur Democrat who was a co-sponsor of the 2022 measure and who attended Monday’s parity rally, said she hopes to pass additional legislation aimed at closing the gaps in enforcement when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

House Bill 612, which was introduced by Rome Republican Katie Dempsey, would create a formal mechanism to review and address parity complaints by establishing a parity compliance review panel. It would require health care providers to report suspected violations by health insurers. The bill stalled in the Senate insurance committee, but could be picked up again in 2026.

“I am grateful that we are having some demonstrable evidence from the commissioner today that we’re moving forward, but there is much more to do,” Oliver said.

Brunswick City Commissioners will vote to finalize a property tax millage rate, according to The Brunswick News.

Property taxes fund a large percentage of City Hall’s budget, which commissioners approved in June. The budget is based on a millage rate of 13.219 mills, the same rate it has been since 2014.

Set at $24.02 million, the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget, as approved, is roughly 5% larger than the last fiscal year. The city operates on a fiscal year that runs from July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the next.

Much of the increase comes from new positions, extending Brunswick Municipal Court’s hours to allow for night courts and funding for the city’s new Recreation and Housing departments.

The higher budget is supported by a projected 10% increase in property values, a $400,000 increase in sales taxes, higher building permit revenue and Municipal Court fines, City Manager Regina McDuffie told commissioners at a past meeting.

Property taxes generate about 30% of the city’s revenue, while sales taxes account for just under 50%. The remainder is from a variety of other revenue sources.

Also in the budget is a 3% raise for city employees and a 6% raise for commissioners and mayor.

Augusta’s $11 million dollar deficit may lead to higher property taxes, according to WRDW.

The budget deficit comes several months after it was discovered that the city had to pay more than $6 million to the federal government for unspent grant money.

Another factor, according to interim Finance Director Timothy Schroer, is employee healthcare being over budget by $7.8 million.

Going into budget season, commissioners have said they have tough decisions to make, and property owners are already facing an increase in streetlight fees and garbage rates as well.

Schroer told commissioners one option to cover the gap is raising property taxes by 1 mill.

Officials say for the average home in Augusta, which is about $200,000, that would be an extra $90 dollars of taxes they would have to pay if commissioners vote to increase the millage rate by one mill.

Raising property taxes, however, isn’t the only option. Commissioners could vote to keep the current millage rates flat, which Schroer say will help a little, but not entirely.