Mayor and Council Meeting - A. MAX BACON CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Minutes
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May 05, 2025 7:00 PM City of Smyrna Mayor and Council Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 3 of 7 Whereas, according to the CDC, one in five Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year. Millions of people will also be affected by mental illness each year, carrying physical, social, and financial impacts; and Whereas, every person shares the burden of mental and behavioral health problems and has a responsibility to promote mental wellness and support prevention efforts; and Whereas, the need for comprehensive, coordinated mental and behavioral health service is a critical responsibility and is fundamental to the future of our community; and Whereas, Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 which established 988 as a crisis number where a person in mental health crisis can speak -with a trained counselor for immediate assistance. In 2022, 988 became available in Georgia; and Whereas, every resident and community can make a difference in helping end the silence and stigma that for too long has surrounded mental illness and discouraged people from getting help; NOW Therefore: I, Derek Norton, Mayor of the City of Smyrna, Georgia, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month in the City of Smyrna. As the Mayor, I call upon our citizens, government agencies, public and private instih1tions, businesses, law enforcement, and schools to recommit increasing awareness and understanding of mental and behavioral health, steps our residents can, take to protect their mental health, foster resilience, and the need for appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental and behavioral health conditions. 7. Community Development Items 8. Privilege License and Show Cause Hearing 9. Formal Business A. ATH2025-075 Authorization and certification of the Estimated Rollback Rate to establish 8.99 mills as the millage rate to be provided to the Cobb County Tax Assessors Office and the Cobb County Tax Commissioners Office for the 2025 assessment notices. Citywide Richard Garland, Community Services Administrator, provided the following background: HB 581, also known as the "Save Our Homes Act" in Georgia, was approved and signed into law during the 2024 Regular Session and is a bill that aimed to provide property tax relief to homeowners by implementing a statewide homestead exemption. The City opted out of new homestead because the City’s current floating homestead exemption was more advantageous to the taxpayer. All required hearings were held and the opt out was filed by the deadline. A provision of this bill was that the local governments had to provide an estimated rollback rate to the County Tax Commissioner by March 31 to be placed on tax assessment notices. Finance and Administration, in consultation with legal, provided the anticipated millage rate of 8.99 mills to the County to be included on assessment notices. During the 2025 Regular Session, HB 92 made several modifications to the previously HB 581 to clarify several key areas. One of those was to require a formal vote by the