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Tyrone approves millage rate, despite rollback plea from Caldwell

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Though the town of Tyrone had approved the millage rate earlier this summer, it had to hold the millage rate hearings again due to an error from the Fayette County Tax Commissioner’s office. The final hearing took place before the start of last Thursday’s Town Council meeting and Grace Caldwell, who is running for mayor this November against incumbent Sheryl Lee, asked the council to roll back the millage rate from 2.9 mills to 2.729 mills.

Caldwell argued that the net digest, which is derived from reassessment of existing properties and the valuation of new properties, for 2002, 2003 and 2004 increased by an average of 13 percent per year. Caldwell then stated that at the same time the net tax increases for the same three years average 24.93 percent while the millage rate for the same three years remained at 2.9 mills.

“I am requesting that you (the council) lower Tyrone’s millage rate to 2.72 to offset the revenue windfall obtained from just property reassesments, which I stress again add no additional cost,” Caldwell said, reading from a prepared statement.

The council asked Town Manager Barry Amos how much, if any, of a budget shortfall changing the millage rate would create and were told that it would create a shortfall of $38,997. While Councilman Lyn Redwood felt sure they could find something in this year’s budget to take out, councilmen Mike Smola and Paul Letourneau felt that the change to Tyrone taxpayers, which would average $13.23 a year for a home valued at $200,000, was not enough to change the rate and the budget at this late a date.

Amos stated that the town could figure in a rollback of the millage rate in next year’s budget and Smola supported that position. The motion to adopt the millage rate was approved, though Redwood voted against the motion.