Increased tax digest allows Banks County to hold the line on millage rate

HOMER — The elected head of Banks County government says the recovering economy is allowing commissioners to avoid a tax increase again in 2017.

Banks County Commission Chairman Jimmy Hooper said the 9.299-mill rate will collect only a little more taxes than last year, and that’s because of improvements in the county’s property tax digest.

Figures published by the county show that countywide real and personal property increased $29.9 million, from $546,004,237 in 2016 to $575,915,884 in 2017.

The county’s general county maintenance and operation rate was approved at 13.975 mills minus the local option sales tax reduction of 4.675 mills, resulting in an actual total county millage rate of 9.299, according to the tax levy resolution approved unanimously in a called meeting Thursday.

“It’ll make it tax neutral from last year,” said Commissioner Charles Turk.

“Banks County was fortunate this year that, like all counties in Georgia, we’re recovering from the recession,” Hooper said after the meeting. “Our digest went up, and of course when the digest goes up that means values in the county have gone up.”

During an advertised public hearing on the proposed millage rate, held 30 minutes before the called meeting where the millage was approved, no county residents attended to ask questions or expressed concerns before the county commission.

Hooper pointed out that commissioners took the county budget line by line and department by department, justifying each requested and anticipated expenditure.

“We’ve done real good about managing dollars and dimes in Banks County this year,” Hooper said after the meeting. “Basically, we’re working on the same millage as last year. The digest went up, so we could roll the tax millage rate back accordingly. We’re basically working with the same dollars that we did last year, so it’s good for the county. This is either our seventh or eighth year without a tax increase at all, which is a good thing.”

Hooper said he anticipates the Banks County Board of Education doing something similar with its millage.

“I understand the schools are going to follow suit,” Hooper said. “They’re going to do something very similar.”

Banks County Commission Chairman Jimmy Hooper, left, signs the tax levy resolution while Assistant City Clerk Erin Decker goes over paperwork with Commissioner David Duckett.

Each year, Banks County Commissioners go through the proposed county budget line by line. This notebook contains that budget.

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