November 3rd Mayor and Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

For the 22nd time in the last 23 years, there will be no property tax rate increase for City government services in Dalton. The Mayor and Council voted Monday night to adopt the rollback millage rate for 2025 property taxes. That vote was the most significant item on the agenda for the Council's meeting on Monday night, but the true highlight might have been a visit from a pack of local Cub Scouts. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING

The Mayor and Council moved Monday night to set the 2025 millage rate at the rollback rate equivalent of 1.499 mills. The rollback rate is calculated to offset any increase in tax collections caused by the appreciation of the value of the tax digest. Setting the rollback millage rate will lead to $8.324 million in property tax collections, which is approximately $264,000 less than the 2025 budget projected. It is also $238,000 less than the City collected in 2024. However, Chief Financial Officer Cindy Jackson reported that the City has additional revenue sources, including funds from the insurance premium tax, that will cover that shortfall in the budget.

Caption: The Mayor and Council pose with members of Dalton Cub Scout Pack 60 after Monday night's meeting 

The vote to adopt the rollback millage rate for 2025 extends the City's streak of either holding property taxes steady or decreasing property taxes in Dalton. The City of Dalton has adopted the full rollback rate in 12 of the past 22 years, and there were also 10 years in the past 22 where the City was able to set the millage rate below the rollback rate. The City of Dalton has only had one property tax increase in the past 22 years. 

The Council voted 3-0 to adopt the rollback rate of 1.499 mills (Councilmember Dennis Mock was not present and Mayor Annalee Sams typically votes only in the event of a tie). To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Members of Dalton's Cub Scout Pack 60 attended Monday night's meeting as part of their study of representative government. The Cub Scouts were recognized by Mayor Sams at the outset of Monday night's meeting and followed along through the session with their own copies of the meeting agenda. Mayor Sams encouraged the scouts to ask any questions they had about the meeting at the conclusion. After the meeting, the scouts posed with the Mayor and Council. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Council also heard the first reading of Ordinance 25-23 which would rezone a tract of land at 1506 E. Morris Street from general commercial (C-2) to rural residential (R-5). The request to rezone the property was made by CKD Properties and Investments in order to redevelop the property. Commercial buildings that used to stand on the property have been cleared and CKD Properties has proposed building two duplex residences on the property. Ethan Calhoun from the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission reported that the the Dalton-Whitfield Planning Commission and staff had recommended denial of the request. He noted that all of the property surrounding the parcel is zoned and developed for commercial use. The Joint Comprehensive Plan calls for all property in this area to remain zoned for commercial use if it has road frontage on E. Morris Street. Calhoun noted that rezoning the property for residential use would not cause any immediate negative impact on surrounding property values, but it would place a burden on those property owners to create 20-foot buffers to separate from the residential property. To read the recap of the Planning Commission meeting, click here. To read the staff analysis of the request, click here. To view the presentation on the property including zoning maps of the surrounding area, click here. Because this was the first reading of the ordinance, no action was taken by the Council. They will consider a vote on the rezoning request after a second reading at a future meeting. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Monday night the Mayor and Council voted to: 

• Approve a voluntary benefit agreement for medical transportation coverage - The City's Human Resources Department is entering into an agreement with MASA to provide medical transportation coverage as a voluntary benefit for City employees. The program provides employees with the option to add out-of-pocket expense coverage for emergency transportation services as part of their voluntary cafeteria benefits package through a payroll deduction. There is no cost to the City for the coverage. Click here to review the agreement. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the agreement. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve an insurance settlement and property damage release with Progressive Insurance - A car crash damaged pedestrian signal equipment at the intersection of E. Morris Street and Walnut Avenue. Progressive Insurance, which covered the at-fault driver, has offered reimbursement to the City of $2,592.12 which covers the cost of repairing the damage. The property damage release accepts the payment and agrees to not seek further compensation for the damage. To view the settlement, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to accept the agreement. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a change order for the low voltage wiring contract for the John Davis Recreation Center project - City IT Director Jorge Paez reported that the IT Department and the contractor installing network cables and other low voltage wiring have found that the ceilings in older parts of the building are too shallow to accomodate the standard cable trays. The change order replaces the trays with more narrow types of trays that will fit in the shallow drop ceiling. The change adds $500 to the project which is being paid from SPLOST funds. To view the change order, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the change order. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve an additional ecological survey for the Mill Line Trail Extension Project - Planning for the Phase 2 extension of the Mill Line Trail to connect the Paul Belk Honorary Trailhead to downtown Dalton is continuing. As part of an environmental survey of the projected route, a contractor found that the proposed trail alignment would impact wetland areas adjacent to Coronet Drive and that it would be extremely costly to mitigate the impact and build the trail there. The proposed route has been changed to avoid the wetland areas, but the re-routing of the trail to the south requires an additional ecological study. The cost for the work is $6,827 and will be paid from SPLOST funds for the project. To view the contract addendum, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the addendum. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Mayor Sams closed Monday night's meeting with an announcement of a called Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, November 10th at 6:00 pm for a public hearing on the proposed 2026 general fund budget for the City of Dalton. A vote on adoption of the budget is scheduled for the Mayor and Council's meeting on Monday, November 17th at 6:00 pm. To review the proposed 2026 budget, click here. 

Click "Play" in the window below to watch Monday night's meeting