As expected, the Coweta County Commission Tuesday lowered the tax rate for the county's property owners for the sixth year in a row.

During a called meeting, the commission unanimously approved a rate of 5.38 mills for incorporated parts of the county and 6.42 mills for the unincorporated areas. The rates were tentatively approved at a previous meeting so they could be advertised.

The rate represents a reduction of .07 mills for the incorporated residents and .04 mills for the unincorporated citizens.

As part of its action Tuesday, the board approved maintaining the fire district tax rate at last year's 2.5 mills, and accepted the county Board of Education's tax rate of 17.88 mills for maintenance and operation, and 2.5 mills for debt retirement.

The Board of Education's millage rate represents a reduction of .12 mills. Thus, homeowners will see a total reduction of .19 mills in cities and .15 mills in unincorporated areas.

A mill is one dollar per thousand dollars of a home's assessed value. Assessed value is 40 percent of the home's market value. Thus, after allowing for homestead exemption, the tax for a $100,000 home in the cities will be reduced by $7.01, and county residents will see a $5.96 decrease.

But when they get their tax bills, most residents won't be able to find those reductions. Increases in the value of property from recent reassessments will bring increases in the total taxes paid.

Commissioner Vernon "Mutt" Hunter said he is pleased the county can offer a high level of services, but still cut the tax rate. "If we couldn't lower it, I wouldn't be voting for it," Hunter said.

Tax Commissioner Tommy Ferrell told the county's staff the tax digest had grown to $1.269 billion in the unincorporated county and $342 million in the incorporated areas, which translates to a 7.95 percent and 7.42 percent increase, respectively.

Now that they're approved, the tax rates will be presented to the state Department of Revenue for final approval.