Tax increases for Lincoln County Government and the Lincoln County Board of Education will result in a slew of public hearings.

Concerning the county government, the net tax digest for 2005 is $220,986,226. The figure was approximately $206 million before reassessments were made.

According to Kenny Adair, chief tax appraiser for the county, “We had to do reassessments in areas where the property values were extremely low — these included the majority of property in the City of Lincolnton and property bordering the lake. We also had to reassess areas where there was a lot of sales activity.”

When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicates there has been a fluctuation in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and increase or decrease the assessment.

“Sales were out of whack — we couldn’t have passed a state audit by a long shot,” the tax appraiser continued. “Something had to be done or we would have been fined by the state.”

Whenever there is any re-evaluation of property, Georgia Law requires that millage rates be rolled back to offset the increase in the digest that can be attributed to property reassessment. The rollback millage rate, which has been computed at 9.558 mills for the county, includes normal growth in the tax digest.

“The purpose of computing the rollback millage rate is to ensure that a governing authority does not collect a windfall as the result of property reassessment,” said Adair. “It holds the authority accountable for adjusting its millage rate to account for the re-evaluation of existing properties.”

Georgia Law does allow governmental agencies to exceed the rollback millage rate provided certain requirements (advertising and public hearings) are met.

Before property was re-evaluated, the county was looking at upping last year’s millage rate of 10.194 by about 1.6 mills for a total of 11.794 mills to fund the FY 2006 Budget which increased by $364,381. Now, as a result of property reassessment, 11.794 mills of tax will generate $2,606,311 — $176,788 over the amount needed to fund the FY 2006 Budget.

Instead of absorbing the $176,788 into the budget, the commissioners plan to reduce the 1.6-mill increase by .8 mills (eight tenths of a mill) which means the county will be receiving no additional revenues above what is needed to fund the budget. In other words, adjusting the millage rate will offset the increase in the tax digest due to reassessment.

Since the budget requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate, the county is mandated by law to hold three public hearings to give local residents an opportunity to express their opinions on the tax increase. The public hearings will take place today (Thursday) at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Thursday, September 29, at 3 p.m. in the courtroom at the Lincoln County Courthouse.

The commissioners plan to set the millage rate at the group’s regular monthly meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 6, at 7 p.m. in the courtroom.

Regarding the board of education, the amount of the tax digest for education is slightly lower than the regular county digest due to the Homestead Exemption for people 65 years of age or older, which is based on net income. The tax digest for education is $219,044,177, resulting in a rollback millage rate of 11.244 mills.

Prior to the reappraisal of property in the county, the board of education was considering adding three mills to last year’s millage rate of 12 mills to fund its FY 2006 Budget which reflected an increase of $689,547. Since the re-evaluation of property, it has been determined that 15 mills of tax will generate $210,857 more than what is needed to fund the budget.

There is hope that the schools can keep the extra money. A press release issued by the system stated, “A major reason for the needed increase is to replace funds cut by the state which are required to pay salaries and benefits included in the budget. Also, after the budget was approved, the Hurricane Katrina tragedy is expected to cause the price of diesel fuel, propane gas, and electricity to soar. Additionally, the cost of all goods is expected to rise due to higher transportation costs.”

The board of education will hold public hearings on the tax increase at 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 26; Monday, October 3; and Tuesday, October 4. The meetings will take place at the board office on Metasville Road.

The group plans to set the millage rate at its regular monthly meeting which will be held following the public hearing on October 4.