Bartow City Commissioners will have public hearings on next year’s budget on Thursday, Sept. 5 and Tuesday, Sept. 17, it decided during a budget workshop Monday morning.

Monday morning commissioners met for about two and a half hours to discuss the coming budget and to see where the budget can be trimmed without sacrificing services. Next year’s ad valorem tax rate shows the city will garner $132,995 less than the previous year on the proposed $69 million budget. City Manager George Long said that by keeping the millage rate at 3.9962 mills, this would be the fourth year in a row that property taxes will decline and residents would face another tax cut.