Commissioners to set millage rate today

The Polk County Board of Commissioners has tentatively adopted a millage rate of 11.350, an increase of .507 mills over the 2013 rate of 10.850.

Commissioners will take a final vote on the proposed tax rate during a special called meeting at 7 p.m. July 30.

The meeting will be held at the Commissioners Meeting Room at 29 Hugh Hardison Drive in Cedartown.

The final public hearing on the proposed increase is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. that day.

Other hearings were held at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 23. These sessions gave citizens opportunity to comment on the proposed increase.

If approved, the tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $100,000 is about $20.28 and the tentative tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $75,000 is approximately $15.21.

County Manager Matt Denton said the value of the tax digest is down an estimated $23 million from the past year. This is due, in part, to the change in ad valorem taxes tied to the purchase and sale of new motor vehicles.

“We will see a drop of about $150,000 in tax revenues due to this change plus the lost of sales tax money,” Denton said. “This will impact the total operating budget and the board will make a decision based upon these losses when setting the millage rate.”

Residential and industrial properties were the only two categories in the current 2014 net tax digest that did not reveal a loss of revenue, according to numbers provided.

The total 2013 net digest value from residential property is $470,410,976 compared to $475,047,805 in 2014, a difference of $4,636,829.

Industrial had a difference of $441,064 when comparing the 2013 total of $125,323,592 to $125,764,656 in 2014.

Others categories showed a loss when comparisons are made to the digest values in 2013 and 2014.

Agriculture was down $8,066,762 from a total of $90,671,604 in 2013 to $82,604,842 in 2014.

Commercial was down $2,619,802 in 2014, which showed a total of $162,062,958, compared to $164,682,760 in 2013.

Utilities had a decline of $3,657,918 when comparing the 2014 total of $80,836,490 to the 2013 total of $84,494,408.

Motor vehicles showed the greatest loss when comparing the $85,027,780 in 2013 to $71,152,110 in 2014 or a drop of $13,875,670.

A difference of $697,921 was noted in timber revenues when viewing the $1,597,098 listed for 2013 compared to $881,117 in 2014.

Heavy truck equipment showed a difference of $51,200 from the $61,800 in 2013 to the $10,600 in 2014.

Notices will be mailed by Aug. 31, 2014, according to Polk Tax Commissioner Dorothy Wood.

The deadline to pay due taxes is December 1. Thereafter, a one percent per month penalty will be added to the past due total bill.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, county taxes may be levied and collected for the following public purposes:

- To pay the expenses of administration of the county government

- To pay the principal and interest of any debt of the county and to provide a sinking fund for the payment of the principal and interest

- For educational purposes upon property located outside of independent school systems, as provided in Article VIII of the Constitution of the state

- To build and repair public buildings and bridges

- To pay the expenses of courts and the maintenance and support of inmates, to pay sheriffs and coroners, and to pay for litigation

- To build and maintain a system of county roads

- For public health purposes in the county and for the collection and preservation of records of vital statistics - To pay county police - To support indigent individuals

- To pay county extension agents