Gilmer County Commissioner Will Beattie compared the vote to the feeling of being pushed off a cliff. Yet, after a disheartening discussion, commissioners unanimously supported a measure to advertise a tax increase that will impact every property owner in Gilmer County. Monday’s vote is significant because it paves the way for commissioners to take their final vote and approve the increase. That vote will likely happen at the next commission meeting set for August 11. Chief Financial Officer Faye Harvey said residents will have a chance to voice their opinions before the vote is taken.

In a nutshell, here’s the proposal: Commissioners want to implement a tax rollback, which would realign the 2011 millage rate to what property owners paid last year, despite plunging property values. The revenue generated from the rollback would cover a shortfall in the Maintenance and Operating (M&O) budget, which has been harpooned by an unforseeable state mandate, escalating healthcare costs for county employees and expenses surrounding the upcoming elections. In addition to the rollback, commissioners also opted to increase property taxes by one mill to ensure the April 2013 bond payment will be made. Harvey explained the county has two bond payments per year: One on October 1, the other on April 1. She said the county has enough in surplus to make those payments up until April 2013, but Chairman J.C. Sanford added that action needs to be taken now in order to avoid a financial meltdown in the years ahead.

“We’ve got to be collecting now or we’ll be in real serious trouble in 2013.”
-J.C. Sanford
Gilmer County Commission Chairman

The current millage rate in the county is 5.778 mils. If approved, the rollback would increase the rate to 6.583. From there, an additional one mill increase to make the April 2013 bond payment would bring the final millage rate to 7.583. In dollars and cents, the proposal equates to an additional $1,515,380.00 in revenue for the county. In previous meetings, commissioners also discussed raising taxes to reopen six existing fire stations, but that discussion was tabled at Monday’s meeting and is not included in the current plan.

Randy Bell questioned the commissioners on what action the Board has taken to stimulate the local economy — and took issue with their answers saying too little has been done.

“The automatic reaction (of the Board) is to put it on the backs of the citizens.”
-Randy Bell
Gilmer County Resident

And there’s a strong chance the county’s tax increase won’t stop there. Call it double indemnity — or just an inevitable sign of a struggling economy. The Gilmer County Board of Education is set to meet Monday night in special session to also discuss a proposed tax increase. Financial Director Julie Swindle said a 1.5 millage hike would likely be the starting point for their discussion, but that figure could go up or down — there’s no way to know until the meeting happens. Swindle explained the discussion is inevitable with the decrease in the local tax digest and an additional decrease in expected state funding.

On paper, it would appear the tax rate has remained the same for several years. The last time there was a millage rate increase in the county was 2005 and property owners actually benefited from a millage rate reduction in 2008. However, during that time, property values escalated. In essence, even though the tax rate went down, property owners were still paying more.

As for how much this will impact the average property owner: The tax is determined on the assessed value of the property which, by law, is established at 40% of the fair market value. The amount of tax is determined by the tax rate (millage rate) levied by various entities (one mill is equal to $1.00 for each $1,000 of assessed value or .001).

The increase comes up for final vote at the next commission meeting on August 11 at 6 p.m. in the Jury Assembly Room at the Gilmer County Courthouse, located at 1 Broad Street in downtown Ellijay.

Below, you’ll find the county’s exact advertisement:

Gilmer County 2011 Millage Rate Advertisement