middle of this month, Coweta County property owners

should know how much of a "Christmas present"

they'll be remitting to the tax office thsi December.

Coweta

County Tax Commissioner Tommy Ferrell said his staff is

going through the property tax assessments this week and

should be ready to mail out property tax bills later this

month.

The good

news is that most residents should see a slight decrease

in their bills after the Coweta County Board of

Commissioners and the Coweta County Board of Education

recently lowered their millage rates for the upcoming

year.

Another

plus in taxpayers' favor this year is the increase in the

homestead exemption passed by Gov. Roy Barnes and the

General Assembly earlier this year.

"It

depends on how much homestead exemption you're qualified

for, but residents should see a $40 or $50

decrease," Ferrell said.

Ferrell

also said the state's new computer software for tag

bills, which was installed in Coweta County in early

September, is still getting some of the bugs worked out

of it.

"They're

trying to make it more user friendly where the tag clerks

don't have to call the help desk all the time," he

said.

The new

system has caused some frustration on the part of

residents and clerks in the tag office, but Ferrell sees

the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Everybody

realizes this is going to be a great system once the

problems are solved," he said.