Walker County Government to Roll Back Millage Rate to Minimize Impact of Higher Appraisals on Property Owners

The Walker County Board of Commissioners will hold three public hearings in August to provide citizens with a better understanding of a proposed millage rate reduction to offset an inflationary increase evaluation. The hot housing market has enhanced the value of many properties in Walker County, leading to higher appraisals.

The Board of Commissioners proposes to roll back the millage rate used to calculate property taxes to the lowest point it has been in four-years to balance taxes associated with higher property values. However, due to the substantial growth, the new millage rate will trigger state requirements to advertise a slight property tax increase.

“We’ve worked to reduce the burden on property owners by strategically growing our sales tax base,” said Shannon Whitfield, Board Chairman. “We will see a direct benefit this budget cycle. We took in $653,144 in additional sales tax revenue which enables us to keep the expense of government services in line with inflation and hold the line on property taxes.”

Georgia requires advertisement of a property tax increase when the proposed millage rate is higher than the “rollback rate,” a complex state formula used to compute millage based on the value added from reassessments. In this instance, Walker County is required to advertise a property tax increase of 3.26% for the unincorporated area and 0.54% for incorporated areas, even though county government will collect $196 less in revenue from property taxes in fiscal 2022.

The proposed millage rate of 8.313 mills in the unincorporated area actually represents a 10.49% reduction over 2020, while the proposed rate of 11.963 mills in the incorporated areas represents a 9.88% year-to-year decrease.

Public hearings on the millage rate will take place on the following dates/times and locations:

·         Thursday, August 12 at 8:00 a.m. – Walker County Civic Center (10052 Hwy 27, Rock Spring)

·         Thursday, August 12 at 6:30 p.m. – Walker County Courthouse Annex III (201 S Main St., LaFayette)

·         Thursday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m. – Walker County Courthouse Annex III (201 S Main St., LaFayette)

The millage rate will be set at the Board of Commissioners regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on August 26.