Residents

checking their mail this week may have discovered Coweta

County's annual present - property tax bills.

Coweta

County Tax Commissioner Tommy Ferrell said taxes are due

Dec. 15 this year and said many residents are surprised

their tax bills went down.

There are

several reasons for the lower figures. First, Ferrell

pointed out the County Commission's and school board's

tax rates both dropped this year.

Second,

this is the first year of the Governor's Homestead Tax

Relief Credit. This credit is applied to owner-occupied

property and is reflected in the calculation of the tax

bill.

Senior

citizens will also notice a reduction in their bills

because of a new senior exemption that started this year.

The

exemption allows a homeowner who is 65 or older, or

totally disabled, and who has a gross income between

$12,500 and $25,000 to be exempt from school taxes on the

first $20,000 of assessed property value.

Ferrell

also reminds property owners that tax bills are mailed to

the owner of record as of Jan. 1 of this year.

People who

purchased property after Jan. 1 more than likely became

responsible for payment of 1999 taxes at closing and

should contact the previous owners or the tax

commissioner's office for their tax bills.

Tax bills

can either be mailed to the tax commissioner's office at

22 East Broad Street in Newnan or personally dropped by

the office.