Biggest percentage tax increase — Tyrone with 11 percent tax increase, followed by Fayetteville with an expected 9.5% tax hike, Fayette County Board of Education with 9% tax increase, Coweta County Commission with 8.6% tax increase, and Coweta County Board of Education with 3.4% tax increase.
Holding the line, with full rollbacks of millage rates — Fayette County Commission with 8% millage rate rollback and Peachtree City with 8% rollback of city tax millage rate.
Fayette School Board hikes taxes 9%
The Fayette County Board of Education at its Aug. 21 meeting adopted the 2017 millage rate at 19.5 mills. The new rate represents a quarter-mill decrease but an overall 9.16 percent tax increase due to increased property values.
Superintendent Jody Barrow after the unanimous vote commended the board for being good fiscal stewards, having lowered the millage rate twice in the past two years.
The board last year lowered the rate to 19.75 mills, down from the 20-mill state maximum which had been in effect for several years.
School system spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach on Aug. 4 said the school board is “announcing its intention to adopt the millage rate at 19.5 mills, which will effectively raise property taxes the board of education will levy this year by 9.16 percent over the rollback millage rate. The proposed millage is a .25-mill decrease compared to the previous year.”
The recently-adopted FY 2018 budget, set at $203.7 million, was essentially a $10 million increase over FY 2017.
That increase was targeted for a cost-of-living increase for all employees, years of service credit increases, an increase in the employer contribution rate to the Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS) and the increase in the employer portion of health insurance for classified employees. These increases total approximately $10 million, said Berry-Dreisbach.
Coweta BoE hikes taxes 3.4% to fund $196 million school system budget
The Coweta County Board of Education on Aug. 21 voted to maintain school system property tax rates at 18.59 mills for Fiscal Year 2018. The move will represent a tax increase of 3.43 percent.
The board voted 6-0 in favor of keeping the school system’s maintenance and operation tax rate at the same level, said school system spokesman Dean Jackson.
“By maintaining the rate at 18.59 mills, school property tax collections are projected to increase by 3.43 percent due to reassessments,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the school board has maintained the millage rate at that level since first setting it in 2004.
The school board in June adopted a $196 million general fund budget for the new school year, up $2 million over the previous year.
Tyrone hikes town tax 11% with no rollback in rates
The Tyrone Town Council on Aug. 24 adopted the 2017 millage rate. While remaining at the 2.889-mill rate as it has for 11 years, the rate presents a tax increase due to rising property values.
The 2.889-mill rate amounts to a property tax increase of 10.82 percent based on increasing values. A rollback would have placed the rate at 2.643 mills.
The increase will generate $113,946 in additional tax revenues.
The town has maintaining the 2.889-mill tax rate in place for the past 11 years.
Coweta raises taxes 8.6% outside cities, 6.7% in cities
The Coweta County Commission on Aug. 22 adopted a millage rate that will increase taxes by 6.7 percent in the incorporated areas and 8.6 percent for unincorporated property owners.
The 7.63-mill rate in the incorporated areas represents an increase of 6.7 percent. The 2016 millage rate for the incorporated areas of the county was 7.148 mills, with the new rate resulting in a .48-mill increase. The increase will mean a $33.74 increase on a home valued at $200,000.
The increase to 6.63 mills in the unincorporated areas, an increase of .52 mills, represents an increase of 8.6 percent. The 2016 rate in the unincorporated areas was 6.106. The tax hit for a home valued at $200,000 would be $36.68.
Commissioners said the proposed millage rates will fund items such as 44 new public safety positions.
Fayette Commission hold the line on county tax, rolls back rate 8%
The Fayette County Commission on Aug. 24 approved a full rollback of the millage rate, establishing the general fund rate at 4.509 mills.
The new rate includes a 4.509 mills for maintenance and operations, down from 4.917 mills last year, an 8.3 percent decrease.
There was no change for the fire services millage rate at 3.07 mills, the EMS services rate at .456 mills and the E-911 rate at .21 mills.
In terms of the taxable digest, figures for 2017 showed an all-time high for the county at $5.621 billion. The previous high came in 2009. — Reported by Ben Nelms and
