Commission Rejects Rollback, Passes Flat Property Tax Rate

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners formally approved property tax rates for the county on Tuesday night, adopting a millage rate of 6.686 for the unincorporated parts of the county and 7.626 in the county’s four cities.

The millage rates are unchanged from a year ago, but they represent a tax increase because property in the county has been assessed at a higher value this year than last, reflecting the inflationary forces in the market.

The Board held three public hearings on the millage rate during August, with three citizens showing up to offer comments.

Two of them asked the commissioners to roll back the millage rate to offset the increased property tax assessment.

The increased assessment will result in an owner of a $350,000 home in the county paying $56.03 more this coming year than last year and the owner of a $350,000 home in one of the county’s four cities paying $77.28 more in county taxes this year than last year.

The Board on Tuesday also affirmed the millage rate of 16.5 set by the Board of Education, and that rate will result in the owner of that $350,000 home paying $74.93 more this year than last in taxes for the county’s schools.

The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday also tentatively agreed to spend $216,257 with Moreland Altobelli of Duluth to complete required plan updates in advance of the January 2021 letting of a construction contract for the widening of Experiment Station Road from Butler’s Crossing to the U.S. 441 bypass.

For more on the story, with videos of the recent Commission meeting and of the Tax Hearings, please go to Oconee County Observations.