The millage rate in Walker County, Georgia, is expected to be lowered by the county commission in an effort to offset an increase in assessed value of homes and property in the area.
The upcoming proposed millage rate reduction is being put in place to offset an “inflationary increase” in evaluation, county spokesman Joe Legge said in a news release Friday.
“The hot housing market has enhanced the value of many properties in Walker County, leading to higher appraisals,” Legge said.
“We’ve worked to reduce the burden on property owners by strategically growing our sales tax base,” commission Chair Shannon Whitfield said in a statement. “We will see a direct benefit this budget cycle. We took in $653,144 in additional sales tax revenue, which enables us to keep the expense of government services in line with inflation and hold the line on property taxes.”
The county is proposing the millage rate be reduced by 10.5% to 8.313 mills in the unincorporated area of the county and reduced by about 9.9% to 11.963 mills in the incorporated areas. The millage rate is used to calculate property taxes.
The new five-member county commission is proposing to roll back the millage rate to the lowest point it has been in four years. The goal is for the lower millage rate to balance taxes associated with higher property values. However, due to the substantial growth in the county, the new millage rate will trigger state requirements to advertise a slight property tax increase, Legge said.
Georgia requires counties to advertise a property tax increase when the proposed millage rate is higher than the “rollback rate.” The rollback rate is a complex state formula used to compute millage based on the value added from reassessments.
In this instance, Walker County is required to advertise a property tax increase of 3.26% for the unincorporated area and 0.54% for incorporated areas even though county government will collect less in revenue from property taxes in fiscal 2022, Legge said.
In order for the public to be aware of the changes to ask questions, the commission will host three public hearings to give residents a better understanding of the changes and what they need to know.
Those meetings will be:
> Thursday, Aug. 12 at 8 a.m., Walker County Civic Center in Rock Spring.
> Thursday, Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m., Walker County Courthouse Annex III in LaFayette.
> Thursday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., Walker County Courthouse Annex III in LaFayette.
The new millage rate is expected to be set at the commissioner’s regular meeting on Aug. 26.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.