Commissioners adopt millage rate

The Houston County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution, setting the new millage rate for fiscal year 2019. The Houston County tax levy for 2019 was set for 23.232 mills in the incorporated areas of the county and 24.409 mills for the unincorporated areas.

The proposed millage rate for general county purposes was 9.935 mills on the taxable property on the Houston County Digest, both incorporated and unincorporated. This includes public utilities and property not on the digest for county purposes authorized by the law.

8.802 mills funds the FY2020 general fund expenses and a tax of 1.133 mills funds the mandated expenses, bringing the total to 9.935 mills. The school tax millage rate, for educational purposes, of 13.297 was confirmed and set for both incorporated and unincorporated areas in the county.

The fire tax rate was proposed at 1.177 mills in the unincorporated areas of Houston County as well. The Board also took action on the Houston County Mandate Levy, which states there is a tax of 1.133 mills levied on all taxable property. This also includes public utilities in the county. This millage rate is incorporated into the total 9.935 millage rate as previously stated.

Chairman Tommy Stalnaker explained that the proposed millage rate was set at the same rate as the previous year. The board held a public hearing for the purpose of keeping the county millage rate the same.

“You may see other governments, particularly in middle-Georgia or throughout the state that talk about raising the millage rates by one mill, two mills sometimes three mills, but this county does not have that ability to be able to do that,” said Stalnaker.

“This county operates up under a tax cap and the tax cap limitations this year is 0.8562 mills, which is eight tenths of a mill before we’d hit the cap. So, the very maximum we could raise any millage, if we chose to raise the millage, would be eight tenths of a mill. We don’t have the ability to raise it 1, 2 or 3 mills like other local governments may have,” Stalnaker said.

Commissioner Tom McMichael gave closing comments of thanks to all the hands involved in putting this budget together, ensuring there was no tax increase along with a raise for employees.

“I wanted to give a great big thank you to all the people that were involved in that,” said McMichael. “Being able to put this thing together with no tax increase on it and we were able to still give our employees a 2% salary adjustment if you will.”

The board addressed an emergency item on the Friday meeting agenda in regard to the Chilled Water Plant Upgrade at the Detention Center. Three contractors bid for this project and it was recommended that the board award the project to the low bidder, J.M. Clayton Co. for $135,960. The project will be funded by the 2012 SPLOST fund. The board voted in favor of the award.