The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners decreased the millage rate for the fourth consecutive year Friday morning.
The board approved an incorporated millage rate of 20.355 mills and an unincorporated rate of 20.211 mills at the called meeting. District 1 Commissioner Howard Sanders was absent.
“We basically rolled the rates back to where they’re flat from last year,” District 5 Commissioner Tracy Norman said. “It’s four years in a row that we’ve not taken an increase.”
The county millage rate, which is the amount of tax dollars for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value, will be 5.393 mills for city or incorporated areas, down 6.37% from last year.
Unincorporated area rates will be 5.249, a decrease of 4.13%.
That county rate is then added to the Board of Education’s millage rate to determine property taxes.
The BOC approved the BOE’s millage rate of 14.962 mills, which is down 6.63% from last year’s 16.025 mills. The BOE’s rate is lower than the rollback rate, which signifies a tax reduction.
However, even with lower millage rates, residents may still see higher property tax bills this year because property values have continued to rise.
In fact, most home valuations in the county have doubled in the last four years, said Kem Caldwell, chief appraiser at Oglethorpe County’s Tax Assessor's office.
The other four commissioners were present at the meeting, along with one member of the public, county administrator Jason Lewis and Jeff Sharp, the director of planning, zoning and compliance.
In other business, the board approved the appointment of Sam Nash to the Planning and Zoning Board. Nash is replacing Robert Drew, a previous board member who died on Oct. 10.