While the General Fund and

the SSD millages are the same as 2002, the county's tax digest, excluding

the value of new residential and commercial properties, increased from

the previous year.

If the tentative millage rates

are approved, this is considered a tax increase under the "Taxpayer

Bill of Rights."

Consequently, the 2003 millage

rates would increase property taxes in the General Fund by 3.94 percent

over the rollback millage rate, and increase the SSD Fund by 3.76 percent

over the rollback millage rate.

Each year, the Board of Tax

Assessors is required to review the assessed value of county residential

and commercial properties for property tax purposes. When the trend of

prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicates there

has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property,

the Board of Tax Assessors is required by law to re-determine the value

of the property and increase the assessment. This is called a reassessment.

When the total digest of taxable

property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate

must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current

year's new digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had

no reassessment occurred.

Georgia law requires that three

public hearings be held to allow the public opportunities to express opinions

on the proposed increase in property taxes.