Friday, September 19, 2003
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Friday, September 19, 2003 |
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School board sets tax hearings By JOHN THOMPSON
Coweta County residents have two opportunities next week to make their feelings known about the school board's proposed tax hike. Last week, the Coweta County School Board announced it would increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 5.67 percent over the rollback millage rate. Currently, the millage rate is 17.94 for maintenance and operation, with a proposed increase of .67 mills, for a total millage rate of 18.61. The millage rate increase comes on the heels of the system borrowing $5 million from its reserves for this years budget, said public information officer Dean Jackson. Jackson said 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 redetermine 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. Therefore, 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: Sept. 22 at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Coweta County School System Boardroom, 237 Jackson Street in Newnan.
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