Following news last week that the county’s second largest city, Fayetteville, is expecting to collect about 3 percent more in property taxes in the coming fiscal year, the county’s largest city is following suit with an even bigger increase.

Peachtree City is proposing a 6.04 percent increase in property tax collections for the upcoming 2005-06 budget year, which means homeowners will see higher tax bills before the end of the year.

The resulting property tax increase will net an additional $503,020 in revenues for the city this year, an estimated figure according to Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore.

The city plans to use the same millage rate as last year, meaning a home valued at $150,000 this year will be billed a total of $316.98; a $200,000 home will be billed $422.64, and a $300,000 home will be billed $633.96. The appraised values of individual homes are calculated by the Fayette County Tax Assessors Office.

The “built-in” annual tax increase is due to the upward reassessment of existing property and buildings and the addition of new buildings to the tax rolls.

An estimated 68 percent of the increase is due to reassessed property values, and the remaining 32 percent of the increase is due to new growth, Salvatore said.

Because the city is not planning to roll back taxes to negate the increased property values, it must hold a slate of public hearings on the matter.

Two public hearings will be on Thursday, Aug. 4, one at 7 a.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m. The final hearing will be Friday, Aug. 12 at 7 a.m.

All of the meetings will be at City Hall in Peachtree City and are open to the public.

The city estimates its total revenues will increase by $991,002, Salvatore said. In addition to property taxes, the city collects business taxes, utility franchise fees, court fines and other fees that are included in revenue projections.

Total revenues are expected to increase by 4.18 percent compared to the current year budget.

The city plans to keep its millage rate the same as last year: 5.283 mills. To avoid an effective property tax increase, the city would need to roll that rate