Friday, November 23, 2001
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Friday, November 23, 2001 |
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Millage rate headed down, but taxes may be going up Coweta residents have three opportunities in the next two weeks to voice their opinions about the school board's millage rate. Although the school system has plans to lower the millage rate, many residents will still see an increase in their tax bills this year because of reassesments. The Coweta County School System announced this week its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 10.92 percent over the rollback millage rate, and will hold three public hearings through December 4 on the matter. The recent round of property reassessments by Coweta County allows the school system to roll back maintenance and operations millage rates from 17.87 mills to 16.50 mills, and bonded indebtedness millage rates from 2.25 mills to 1.60 mills (2.02 mills total rollback), and still meet its obligations. The additional revenue funds lower pupil-teacher ratios in Kindergarten through Third Grade, and provides local matching funds of $2,201,340 for state-funded classroom expansion projects at Poplar Road Elementary School and White Oak Elementary School. The budget including these items was approved by the Coweta County Board of Education in June 2001. Each year, the board of assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county. When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and increase the assessment. This is called a reassessment. When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia Law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year's new digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred. The budget tentatively adopted by the Coweta County School System requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate. Before the Coweta County School System may finalize the tentative budget and set a final millage rate, Georgia Law requires that three public hearings be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on their increase. All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the following locations at the indicated times: November 27, 2001 at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and December 4 at 6 p.m. at the at the Coweta County School System Boardroom, 237 Jackson Street, Newnan, Georgia.
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