The Oakwood City Council approved the tax rate for 2011 — with no increase — at a first reading Monday night.

The rate is 2.48 mills, with 1 mill equal to $1 for each $1,000 in assessed property value. Property is assessed at 40 percent in the city.

“With this, we’re leaving the millage rate the same for the 11th straight year without any increase,” City Manager Stan

Brown said. “I think in these economic times it’s a good thing for us to do.”

The City Council will vote for final approval of the millage rate at 4 p.m. Monday. Oakwood is proposing a $3.6 million general fund budget, which becomes effective Jan. 1

“We’ve got a pretty flat budget that we think will allow us to keep providing the same services,” Brown said.

Tax bills will be mailed out Dec. 1 and taxes are due Feb. 1.

In other business, Oakwood issued the official OK Monday to begin construction on the sewer force main that will connect the Oakwood pump station to the Braselton wastewater system.

“That project should be complete next summer,” Brown said. “It creates a lot more infrastructure capability for that whole Winder Highway corridor.”

Brown also updated council members on the progress of periodic sweeps to spruce up the city. Oakwood employees split a map of the city into five zones and concentrate on one area each month.

“For that month we put our efforts into trying to clean up any kind of code violations that are out there, any maintenance to the right of way we need to do, if there’s a sign that needs to be replaced or straightened ... just to try to keep the town looking clean,” Brown said. “After a couple rounds of that, I think we’ll start seeing things looking a whole lot better.”