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.... Going up all over

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

If your home increased in value this year — and it most likely did — you’ll be seeing an increase in school taxes on your tax bill this fall. And school taxes represent the largest chunk of your tax bill.

Last week, the Fayette County Board of Education held two public hearings on the proposed tax increase. While the millage rate is being decreased from 22.67 mills to 22.35 mills, the rollback is not enough to account for the upward reassessments of homes this year.

Residents of a $200,000 home who did not see an increase in value will see taxes drop by $255.06 this year, thanks to the small rollback, said Finance Director Lee Davis.

The millage rate for maintenance and operations is dropping from 18.99 to 18.75 this year, while the bond millage rate falls to 3.60 from 3.687.

Davis said the board expects to levy $79.9 million in tax funds for maintenance and operation, which is a 5.52 percent increase over last year’s collection of $75.5 million.

The reason for not being able to rollback the millage rate to take into account the reassessments is clear, said Davis.

“Over the last four years, we’ve lost more than $15 million in state funds, thanks to austerity reductions,” he said.

Still, Superintendent of Education John DeCotis was glad the board could roll back a part of the millage rate.

“We were blessed with good digest growth this year,” he said.

The board’s general fund budget is a record $164 million this year, and property taxes fund nearly half of the overall budget. The rest is paid for through state and federal funds.

The public’s final chance to comment on the tax increase is tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. at the board’s meeting room on Stonewall Avenue in Fayetteville.