Due to a change in the millage rate that will cause an increase in property taxes, the Walker County Board of Commissioners has announced three public meetings as required by Georgia law.
The proposed millage rate was discussed at the Walker County Board of Commissioners on Thursday night, along with the county’s fiscal year 2023 proposed general budget. The county’s $31.6 million budget will be adopted by the commission along with the new millage rate at the final meeting planned for Sept. 1.
“We are looking at how much property valuations have gone up,” said Shannon Whitfield, chairman of the Walker County Board of Commissioners, at the meeting. “And the average property evaluation has gone up in our county this past year, they tell us, around 25%. This (millage rate) represents that rollback to offset that inflationary factor of increases in property values.”
Public meetings on the millage rate will take place Thursday, Aug. 25, at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, at 6:30 p.m. The morning meeting on Aug. 25 will be held at the Walker County Civic Center (10052 Highway 27, Rock Spring), and both evening meetings will be held at the Walker County Courthouse Annex III (201 S Main St., LaFayette).
The proposed millage rate of 7.200 mills in the unincorporated area of the county represents a reduction from the 8.313 mills rate from 2021. In the incorporated areas of the county, the proposed rate of 10.293 mills represents a decrease from last year’s rate of 11.963 mills, according to a media release from Walker County.