The Coweta County Board of Education again this year will keep the millage rate at 18.59 mills. An increase in property values, thus an increase in revenues, requires the school board to hold public hearings on the millage rate.
School system spokesman Dean Jackson said the school board on July 27 announced the intention to keep the maintenance and operation millage rate at 18.59 mills. The rate has remained unchanged since 2004, Jackson added.
“The 2014 net maintenance and operations digest remains below the 2009 net maintenance and operations digest. By maintaining the current 18.59 mills, the Coweta County School System Board of Education will increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 2.74 percent over the rollback millage rate,” Jackson said.
Revenues generated from the 18.59 rate in 2013 totaled $69.36 million while revenues generated from the same rate for 2014 are expected to total $73.57 million.
Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county.
“When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine (reassess) the value of such property and increase the assessment,” said Jackson.
When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.
Though the millage rate will remain at 18.59 mills, the school board is required to hold public hearings since the expected revenue will increase due to the increase in property values. Those meetings will be held at the board of education office at 237 Jackson Street on Aug. 4 at 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and on Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.
The Fayette County Board of Education raised the millage rate to 20 mills in 2009 and has maintained that rate.
