Flowery Branch City Council set the tax rate Thursday night for its 2012-13 budget.

The rate, unchanged for the seventh year in a row, is 2.837 mills, with 1 mill equal to $1 for each $1,000 in assessed property value. Property is assessed at 40 percent.

Overall, the city plans to spend some $5.4 million on operations and capital projects in fiscal 2013, which began July 1 and ends June 30, 2013.

In other business, the council gave its first OK to setting up streetlight “special assessment” districts.

Residents in Newberry Point and Portsmouth subdivisions would pay $30 per year. And the Madison Creek Homeowners Association would be charged $3,680 per year and “will be responsible for the per parcel assessment.”

Newberry Point and Portsmouth currently don’t pay for streetlights and Madison Creek has a deal with the city to pay a governmental rate to Georgia Power.

All other neighborhoods pay for their lights through homeowners’ associations or other arrangements.

Final approval is set for Sept. 6.