By Eric Curl
July 27, 2025 – In a rare move, Chatham County Commissioners on Thursday adopted a property tax rate for Chatham Area Transit that was lower than what the transit agency’s board had sought.
The commission typically approves the property tax rates adopted by the CAT board. In Thursday’s case, the board chose to reduce the millage for CAT, rather than maintain the same tax rate as had been requested. The reduction is expected to reduce CAT’s property tax revenue by almost $2 million.
In proposing the reduction, Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis said that unincorporated area residents were paying for services they weren’t receiving, while some municipalities were getting discounted services that the unincorporated areas were essentially subsidizing.
He said that Port Wentworth, which does not pay the CAT tax, was receiving services at a cost of $420,000, per the terms of a service agreement, when the actual cost was $668,000.
“That means that the folks in the unincorporated area are going to foot that bill,” he said.
In addition, Ellis said the $2 million annual cost of operating the ferry service to and from Hutchinson Island has not been fully covered per the terms of an agreement CAT has with the city of Savannah and the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Savannah Area Mobility Management (SaMMI) agreement incorporates a hotel room fee that partly goes for the ferry operations. The city was supposed to pay any remaining costs at the end of each year but has not been doing that since at least 2021, Ellis said.
Ellis initially recommended reducing CAT’s millage rate by half, which would have reduced tax revenue by about $8 million – an amount interim CEO Stephanie Cutter said would significantly impact operations. After some discussion, the commission had staff determine the millage rate that amounted to an almost $2 million reduction, with the expectation that the revenue drop would be covered by the city paying the full amount going forward per the terms of the SaMMI agreement.
The vote came only a few days after Savannah City Alderman Detric Leggett, who was recently appointed chairman of CAT’s board, requested that the rate be kept at 1.056 mills in a letter to Ellis dated July 21. Instead, the commission voted to reduce the rate to 0.94 mills, which is below the rollback rate of 1.021 mills.
One day after the commission’s vote, CAT announced in a press release that service changes would be implemented on Monday. The changes include a reduction of service hours on Saturday and the elimination of Sunday service for Route 5 to and from Port Wentworth. In addition, the popular 14 Abercorn route’s frequency will be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 45 minutes, while the 28 Waters will have an additional bus during morning and afternoon peak hours. Savannah Agenda reached out to CAT’s media contact to inquire whether the changes were in response to the commission’s concerns and vote on Thursday. This article will be updated if a response is received.
The reduced tax rate and revised service schedule comes as the county seeks to reverse a recent state-imposed reconfiguration of the CAT board that gives commissioners less control over the agency. Earlier this month, a Chatham County judge dismissed the county’s lawsuit challenging the legislation behind the reorganization, clearing the way for the dissolution of the previous board and the formation of the new governing body, as previously reported. The county is now appealing that ruling, as reported by The Current.
The newly formed CAT board is scheduled to hold its next meeting on Tuesday.
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TOP POSTS
This situation is quite backwards. At a time when we need more public transportation options, we’re undermining CAT’s ability to generate revenue and expand its services. Savannah is growing rapidly, and we need alternatives to decrease the number of cars on the roads. Dismantling CAT is not the solution to our car-centered challenges.