The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) has announced its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 4.09 percent over the amount that would be generated by the 2016 roll-back rate, as defined by state law, for the County’s maintenance and operations (M&O).

The proposed County M&O millage rate is 20.19, the same as last year’s rate. Based on a formula the State outlined, Rockdale County’s rollback rate for 2016 is 19.4 mills.

Each year, the Tax Assessor is required to review the assessed value of property in the County for tax purposes. When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the County indicates there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the Tax Assessor is required by state law to re-determine the value of such property and increase the assessment. This is called a reassessment.

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires counties to compute a roll-back millage rate that would generate the same amount of revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

With the implementation of the County’s Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST), which voters approved in 2001, Rockdale’s homestead exemption has been 82 percent. That means homeowners pay 18 percent M&O County property taxes on their primary residence and lots of up to five acres. (HOST does not impact property taxes paid to the Rockdale County School System or City of Conyers.)

The BOC has tentatively adopted a 2016 millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 4.09 percent. This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 20.19 mills, an increase of 0.59 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 19.4 mills. For instance, the proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $100,000 is approximately $50.15 and the proposed tax increase for non‐homestead property with a fair market value of $300,000 is approximately $177.00.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §48-5-32, the BOC will hold three public hearings relative to the millage rate. The hearing details are as follows:

• Tues., August 16 at 9 a.m. in the Assembly Hall, 901 Main Street, Conyers, 30012.
• Tues., August 16 in the evening at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Hall, 901 Main Street, Conyers, 30012.
• Tues., August 23 at 9:30 a.m. in the Assembly Hall, 901 Main Street, Conyers, 30012.

Additionally, the BOC will hold a Called Meeting to set the 2016 Millage Rate on August 25 at 8:30 a.m. in the County’s Assembly Hall, 901 Main Street, Conyers, 30012.

For questions, please contact County Clerk Jennifer Rutledge at 770-278-7009 or [email protected]