Today is last chance to comment on millage rate

Polk County commissioners are considering a possible property tax rate increase of an increase of 0.144 mills.

The final public hearing for local residents to provide comments on the upcoming potential for a millage rate increase is coming up this morning at 10 a.m.

It’s the third such meeting being held as Polk County commissioners are set to decide where to set the rate for property taxes all across the county, which will affect how much owners of homes and land alike will owe the tax commissioner on their bills set to come out by the end of September.

The advertised maximum rate that county commissioners can set the rate at is 11.238 mills, an increase of 0.144 mills over what it was set at in 2016.

In past years, commissioners have rolled back the millage rate annually from it’s maximum rate to one lower since the annual budget didn’t require any major increases to cover the bills.

However, the County Commission is looking at an additional special service district millage rate for unincorporated Polk County and the City of Aragon to cover the costs of adding paid firefighters to the County Fire Department, along with the restructuring of station locations.

Commissioners will meet on the question to consider what the millage rate will be in 2017 when they gather at 7 p.m. for a special called session in the Board of Commissioners meeting room at the Polk County Police Department, located at 73 Clines Ingram Jackson Road in Cedartown.

Tonight’s meeting will also include an opportunity for candidates who are being considered for the District 1 com- mission seat to fill the interim time between now and the November 2018 election.

But before then during this morning’s public hearing, local resident will get to air their grievances over how much they’ll have to pay in property taxes on their soon-to-be delivered bills.

Last Wednesday night, those comments ranged from a need for a referendum to be called on whether a Polk County Police Department is needed as a way to save on tax dollars, to why the county hadn’t already done more to attract volunteer firefighters in the past years.

Two of those volunteers were among the audience, and they cited that if the county were to loosen restrictions on volunteers, there would be plenty available to get equipment to the scene.

They cited issues with a lack of understanding by county management over the fire department as one reason why this plan was being undertaken instead of focusing efforts on bringing back volunteers who had previously left.

Initially, the county looked at funding a hiring of firefighters for around the clock station coverage with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s SAFER grant, which helps local communities establish paid firefighters within a department by covering the bulk of full-time costs for salaries for two years, and decreasing the amount during the third year.

Assistant County Manager Barry Akinson reported during the public hearing when asked about the current plans for the fire department that the county was able to withdraw their consideration for the grant for 2017 without issue, and remained in contention for a grant from FEMA to cover the cost of a full time position dedicated to recruiting and retaining volunteers for the fire department.

He said the county is currently considering a plan to fund firefighting operations with either a 1-mill special service district rate, or a 2-mill rate. Commissioners will get to decide on whether those plans will be funded during the upcoming meeting tonight over whether they will institute the millage rate for regular property taxes and the special service district.

After hearing several more concerns from the volunteer firefighters — one being that more were arriving at scenes throughout the day than are being reported by the command staff — County Manager Matt Denton proposed a meeting with the entire volunteer fire staff should be arranged, and that he would seek to get answers to issues that were presented during the session.

Comments were also provided over the increased cost to seniors that a rise in the millage rate would cost, and a request to see whether the rate imposed by the Polk County Board of Education could be reduced or eliminated for taxpayers over the age of 65.