By Eric Curl
June 22, 2025 – Chatham County is proposing a 2-mill increase, or almost 50% property tax hike, in the Special Service District that officials say is needed to cover the costs of the fire department for residents outside city limits.
The proposed increase for a home with a fair market value of $275,000 will be about $213, according to county officials. However, the tax increase is replacing a fire fee that was previously implemented to fund the department and county officials say that 81% of property owners will actually see a net savings overall.
The cost of the fire department has increased from about $9 million to about $21 million since the county first took over fire services from the private non-profit, Chatham Emergency Services, in July 2024, according to County Manager Michael Kaigler.
“I think they did the best they could, but there were a lot of gaps in coverage, a lot of capital needs that they didn’t buy,” Kaigler said at a June 18 public hearing. “It just wasn’t run effectively because they couldn’t fund it.”
Chatham County Notice of Property Tax Increase
Still, the tax increase is expected to only cover $14 million of the $21 million cost, Kaigler said. The county is also applying for more than $14 million in FEMA grant funds to cover the costs of hiring 72 additional firefighters over a 3-year period, as approved by the commission on June 13.
Chairman Chester Ellis said he couldn’t rule out additional increases in future years, but that eventually costs will level out.
“There are some challenges that were anticipated and then there are some hidden challenges that we did not know when we took over the fire department,” Ellis said. “So we just have to take those beatings now until those growing pains over.”
The commission is scheduled to adopt the millage rate on June 27 after a third public hearing prior to consideration.
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