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Cumming razes former police 2026 High HQ for event parking lot, park School
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By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
CUMMING, Ga. — The city of Cumming is preparing for a new event parking lot and pocket park after demolishing a former government building. The Castleberry Road building most recently housed the Cumming Police Department. The department relocated to the Cumming City Center, 481 Merchant Way, in April. The city demolished the building in early July and is repurposing the site as a parking lot to serve large events, such as the Cumming Country Fair and Festival, July 4th festivities and the Christmas parade. An adjacent green space will be made into a small park with a picnic and restroom pavilion and a walking trail. The building was once Cumming City Hall. Built in 1974, the building served that purpose until the current city hall at 100 Main St. was opened in 2002.
CITY OF CUMMING/PROVIDED
The city of Cumming demolished a municipal building on Castleberry Street in early July to create an event parking lot.
Forsyth County passes rollback millage rate for 2027 By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners recently approved a rollback millage rate of 7.832 mills, which officials in part credited to careful bond management. The rate is 0.064 mills below the rate of 7.896 mills approved for 2025 and 2026. Approved at an Aug. 6 meeting, the
2027 levy includes 4.727 mills for maintenance and operations, 2.805 mills for the fire district and 0.300 mills for bonds. County school taxes are proposed at a rate of 16.626 mills, the same as approved in 2025 and 2026. One mill brings in $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value, which by state law is 40% of a property’s real — or fair market — value. A home worth $100,000 on the market would have a
taxable value of $40,000, and a levy of 1 mill would cost the property owner $40 in taxes. In his millage rate presentation, Chief Financial Officer Brian Clark pointed to the rise of the county’s tax digest in recent years. The county’s taxable property has increased from $15.8 billion in 2022 to $22.4 billion in 2026.
See MILLAGE, Page 28
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