Oconee County Commissioners Approve FY 2018 Budget And Deny Request For Business Use Of Agricultural Land

Oconee County Commissioners Tuesday night approved a $49.9 million Fiscal Year 2018 budget based on a projected increase of 6.2 percent in sales tax revenue and an 18.4 percent growth in real property tax revenue.

The budget assumes the Commission will hold its millage rate steady at 6.68 and that growth in real property value will produce the increased property tax revenue.

Some of the increased growth in property tax revenue will come from changes in property usage, with developed property producing more tax revenue–and demanding more services--than undeveloped farmland.

Some of the increased valuation results from the improved local economy and its effect on property values.

In other action Tuesday night, the Commission, in a 3-2 vote, denied a special use request by Chad and Marilyn Forehand to be allowed to operate a landscaping business on five acres currently zoned for agricultural use at the northwest corner of Union Church Road and New High Shoals Road.

For more on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Forehand landscaping business.