The good news

is that your property tax rates are not going up.

The bad news

is that your taxes are, if county commissioners approve proposed rates.

Commissioners

Thursday will have the final required public hearing and are expected

to act on proposed property tax rates for 2001.

The rates will

remain virtually the same for this year as they were last year, but because

of reassessments of property values, the county is expecting a 6.1 percent

hike in revenues, so public hearings are required.

The only way

to avoid an increase in the taxes on most Fayette homes would be to roll

back the tax rates to compensate for the increased value of the homes.

The rate for

unincorporated Fayette County will be 10.418 mills. A mill is one dollar

per thousand dollars of a home's assessed value. Assessed value is 40

percent of market value minus any exemptions.

Tax rates in

Fayetteville and Peachtree City will be 7.585, and for Brooks, Tyrone

and Woolsey 11.363. The unincorporated county rate and those in Brooks,

Tyrone and Woolsey include a 3.75-mill tax for fire protection.

Public comment

and questions will be invited. Commissioners meet at 7 p.m. at the County

Administrative Complex.