Tax Rate Increase Likely For Floyd County Property Owners

A projected $3.6 million deficit for 2024 is likely to mean an increase in the Floyd County property tax rate to make up the difference.

The millage rate for 2024 will be formally set at a Floyd County Commission meeting in July. The board must advertise the proposed rate in the county’s legal organ, the Rome News-Tribune, prior to that vote.

“We are required to advertise the maximum that the millage rate could be set at next month,” County Finance Department Director Susie Gass told commissioners Tuesday. “It could be lower, but it cannot be higher than the advertised rate.”

The commission agreed to advertise an increase of .75 mills, an 8.7% increase from 2023. That would bring the property tax rate to 9.414 mills, the same rate as in 2022.

The biggest issue with the budget is a $3.5 million deficit in property tax collections, according to Gass. The actual collections were at 94% of what was owed but county staff had projected collections would be at 95% when setting the budget.

Commissioners had reduced the rate from 9.414 mills to the current rate of 8.664 mills last year. That accounts for a significant portion of the overall revenue shortfall.

“The biggest reason is that we did a major rollback in the millage rate last year,” County Manager Jamie McCord said. “And I was probably a little aggressive with our revenue projections.”

McCord emphasized the importance of maintaining a balanced budget and said that “there will be hard decisions that have to be made in the future.”

The homestead exemption boost enacted by Gov. Brian Kemp, which helped lower many property owners’ tax bills in 2023, also contributed to the tax shortfall. It was not duplicated by the governor in 2024.

A tax rate of one mill represents one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value, which is 40% of a property’s fair market value. So, the taxable percentage of a $200,000 home is $80,000.

In an area where the millage rate is 25 mills, the property tax on that home would be $2,000, less any exemptions. That calculation comes from 25 mills, essentially $25 for each $1,000 of assessed value.

This proposed increase in millage rate comes as property owners in Floyd County are seeing an average of 8.5% increase in their property appraisals, as property valuations across the state continue to increase.

Georgia is experiencing significant economic growth, alongside a shortage of housing stock, which caused housing prices to skyrocket.

The Floyd County Commission approved a $77 million general fund budget on Jan. 23, up from the previous year’s $68 million budget.

The issue in Floyd County is mirrored in many other communities, and the need for an increase didn’t come as a surprise this year.

McCord stated in January that a millage rate increase was possible this year with the county having an extensive number of construction projects in the works and construction costs continuing to grow.

Another factor is that most departments are fully staffed, and the state and county have focused on increasing pay for public sector employees to compete with the private sector.

“We’ve got a lot of projects in the works, and budgets are tight right now,” McCord said in January. “But we’ll continue to watch our revenue projections and hope the economy continues upward.”