Friday, June 11, 2004

Palmetto residents should not see a school tax jump Residents in Palmetto who live in Coweta County can breathe easier about their property tax bills this year. The Coweta County Board of Education approved a tentative 2005 budget of $127 million Tuesday night that should not require a millage rate hike. “We really won’t know until we get the tax digest information later this year, but the board is on record of not seeking a rate hike,” said school system public information officer Dean Jackson. The total budget is just under $181 million, and includes all funds such as bonded indebtedness and capital projects. The final budget approval is expected to occur at 8 a.m. June 24 at the school system office on Jackson Street. This year’s budget was balanced after the school board decided to use $3.7 million in reserve funds. But the vote was not unanimous as members Alan Payton and Brian Roy opposed using the reserves. Last year, the board allocated using $5.5 million in reserves to balance the budget, but didn’t use all the funds, Jackson said. “Hopefully, we can do that again this year. For the last two years, the school system has felt a financial crunch from the state. With less funds available for education, the school system was more reliant on local funds, which come largely from property owners in Coweta County.