Walker County Proposes Lower Millage Rate

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The Walker County Board of Commissioners has announced the scheduling of three public hearings in August to provide citizens with comprehensive information regarding a proposed millage rate rollback. The objective of this reduced rate is to mitigate the impact of higher property appraisals, which were influenced by another year of surging home sales, resulting in an average increase of 30% in property values across Walker County.

To balance the taxes associated with the increased property values, the Board of Commissioners aims to roll back the millage rate used to calculate property taxes to the lowest point since 2012. However, due to substantial growth, the new millage rate will trigger state requirements necessitating the advertisement of a minor property tax increase.

The proposed millage rate for the unincorporated area is set at 5.735 mills, representing a 16% reduction compared to the 2022 rate of 6.8283 mills. Georgia mandates that a property tax increase be advertised when the proposed millage rate exceeds the “rollback rate,” which is determined by a state formula considering value reassessments, growth in sales taxes, and other revenue. In this case, the proposed millage rate is 6.22% higher than the “rollback rate” of 5.399 mills in the unincorporated area. This increase of 0.336 mills will generate approximately $10,537 in additional property tax revenue compared to the previous year.

The public hearings on the millage rate are scheduled for the following dates, times, and locations:

  1. Thursday, August 10 at 8:00 a.m. – Walker County Civic Center (10052 Hwy 27, Rock Spring)
  2. Thursday, August 10 at 6:30 p.m. – Walker County Courthouse Annex III (201 S Main St., LaFayette)
  3. Thursday, August 24 at 7:00 p.m. – Walker County Courthouse Annex III (201 S Main St., LaFayette)

For a home with a fair market value of $225,000 in the unincorporated area, the proposed millage rate would result in a property tax increase of $29.54, equivalent to approximately $2.46 per month. Conversely, homeowners in the incorporated areas would experience savings of about $157 annually, given that the proposed incorporated rate of 7.390 mills is lower than the previous year’s rate of 9.853.

The final decision on the millage rate will be made at the Board of Commissioners regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on August 24.