County, schools, Grovetown, Harlem to meet on millage

None of Columbia County's four property tax-funded organizations intend to conduct millage rollback hearings this year.

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State law requires government agencies that levy property taxes to conduct three rollback hearings each year if they intend to accept the added revenues derived from an increase in property values. This year, though, the value of the tax digest fell, so the hearings aren't required.

However, each agency still must conduct a hearing to set the millage, and all four organizations intend to do so next week.

The county Board of Education reported recently that it is losing about $700,000 in tax revenues this fiscal year. Still, the board intends to vote Tuesday to keep the millage at 17.09 and overcome the loss by drawing from reserves.

The hearing will be held at 7:30 a.m. in the school board central office on Hereford Farm Road.

Preliminary figures for the tax digest suggested it was going to grow by 0.3 percent, said Columbia County Finance Director Leanne Reece. As a result, county commissioners voted this month to cut the rate by a quarter mill to 9.387.

Since then, though, a series of property tax appeals have been settled and the tax digest actually fell by 1 percent.

Still, Reece said the commission intends to move forward with the quarter-mill cut and will approve it at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Evans Government Center on Ronald Reagan Drive.

The city of Grovetown will hold a meeting July 26 to set its rate. Grovetown residents will likely not see a tax increase as city officials plan to keep the 2010 tax rate the same as 2009 at 7 mills, said City Manager Shirley Beasley.

The city's tax digest grew from $197 million in 2009 to almost $199 million in 2010, adding almost $10,000 of expected tax revenue, Beasley said. "We felt like the 7 mills is adequate to take care of the city's needs," she said.

The tax digest grew due to more than $6 million in growth, not an increase in reassessed property values, Beasley said.

The hearing to set the millage will be at 6 p.m. Monday at Grovetown City Hall.

Harlem officials also will meet at 6 p.m. Monday to keep the city's 2010 millage at 5.35 mills. The city tax digest grew almost $1 million to $52.4 million in 2010, adding almost $5,000 in expected tax revenue, said Harlem City Manager Jason Rizner. Harlem experienced new growth, but reassessments decreased.