Every year, Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield must weigh whether to raise or lower the tax rate as the county’s sole governing entity.
At the Walker County Commissioner meeting on Aug. 8, Whitfield will adopt lower millage rates in both the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the county, he announced last week.
Residents in the unincorporated parts of the county can expect a new rate of 9.822 mills, which is a 0.16% reduction in their taxes, according to a press release. Under this new rate, residents would pay 60 cents less on a home valued at $100,000, according to county spokesman Joe Legge.
The reduced rate for residents in the incorporated parts of the county would be 13.293 mills, which is a 0.28% decrease. This would result in a savings of $1.40 on a $100,000 valued home, said Legge.
The change is the result of the “rollback rate” set by the annual appraisal process to maintain the same funding levels as the previous year. It was established in 2000 by the Georgia legislature to protect homeowners against inflation.
While Legge said residents won’t see too much from this rollback, he noted they will see other benefits this tax season. In April, Whitfield eliminated a 0.14% special fee created in August 2017 to pay back the county’s $8.7 million debt to Erlanger Health System. The fee was canceled when county property owners paid more than $3 million, which was above expectations. This will save residents who own a home assessed at $100,000 about $140 this year, said Legge.
The Aug. 8 meeting originally was scheduled to include a public hearing for residents to voice opinions on the citizen-proposed special tax district to pay for street lights to cover Wilson Road from its intersection with Happy Valley Road to the state line. After a meeting on Aug. 1, however, the hearing was canceled to allow the Wilson Road Neighborhood Group time to consider other options to pay for the lights.
The tax is being spearheaded by the group, which held two town hall meetings on the matter this summer, both of which Whitfield attended.
Email Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com.