Residents sweating

out a big property tax increase need to know the county is committed to

rolling back the property tax rate.

Several residents

have already noticed big increases in their new assessments this year,

and are wondering if their property tax bill will increase by the same

amount.

County Administrator

Theron Gay said after all the revisions are made to the tax digest in

November, the County Commission will set the millage rate.

Gay said the

commission is committed to rolling back the millage rate to compensate

for the increased assessed value. Since they're rolling back the rate,

the county would not need to hold public hearings about a tax hike because

of the increased assessments, he said.

He did say

that some residents would have an increase in their bills, because they

have not been paying their fair share, but other residents would see a

decrease.

The biggest

factor is what the school board does, Gay said, since the school board's

portion of the millage rate is the biggest part.

"We still

have not heard back from the board of education on what they plan to do,"

he said.