Two Tax Hearings, Same Hour, Same Street: Gilmer's Last Public Comment Is Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Gilmer County property owners get their last practical chance to talk back on two separate tax increases Wednesday night, and both hearings start at the same hour on the same road. The Board of Commissioners takes public comment on its proposed millage rates at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Gilmer County Community Center, 824 Industrial Blvd. The Board of Education holds its final hearing at 6 p.m. that same evening at the school system's administrative office, 134 Industrial Blvd.

Same street. Same minute. If you want to be heard on both, you will have to pick one.

The county has tentatively adopted a Maintenance and Operation rate of 6.079 mills. That is 0.440 mills above the computed 2026 rollback rate of 5.639, which under Georgia law makes it a 7.80 percent property tax increase. The county's own notice puts the effect at roughly $73.92 more on a homestead property with a fair market value of $425,000, and about $35.20 on $200,000 in non-homestead property.

The school board's number is smaller. It tentatively adopted 9.121 mills, an increase of 0.333 mills over a rollback rate of 8.788, a 3.79 percent increase. The district's notice estimates about $56.62 more on a $425,000 home and $26.64 on $200,000 in non-homestead property.

Levy	Proposed rate	$425K home
County M&O	6.079 mills (+7.80%)	+$73.92
Schools	9.121 mills (+3.79%)	+$56.62

Add the two estimates together and a $425,000 homestead property is looking at roughly $130 more than it would pay at both rollback rates. On $200,000 of non-homestead property, the two notices add up to about $62.

What "rollback rate" actually means

This is the part that trips people up every August. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, and Georgia assesses property at 40 percent of fair market value. When reassessments push values up across the digest, state law computes a lower rollback rate that would bring in the same money as last year. Any rate above that figure is legally a tax increase, and it triggers the notices and the three required hearings, even in a year when the printed millage number does not move.

That is why two boards are advertising increases at once, and why the hearings are stacked into a three-week window.

The schedule from here

The county has already held the first of its three hearings, at 5 p.m. on Aug. 13. Wednesday is the second. The third is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, again at the Community Center, and a special called meeting of the commissioners follows at 10 a.m. the same morning at the same address. That 10 a.m. meeting is the one to watch if you want to see the rate actually set.

The school board's calendar is shorter. It held hearings at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Aug. 12, which leaves Wednesday evening as its last one.

Both sets of hearings are open to anyone. Neither board is required to change anything based on what it hears, and residents who cannot get to Industrial Boulevard at 6 p.m. have no second date with the school board.

Also on the county calendar this week

Wednesday starts early for county government. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meets at 8 a.m. at the Rec office, 1561 South Main St. Then on Thursday, Aug. 20, the Board of Land Use Appeals holds a public hearing at 5 p.m. in the Jury Assembly Room at 1 Broad St.

Anyone who needs an accommodation to attend a county meeting is asked to call the county's ADA coordinator at 706-635-4361 ahead of time. The county also notes that meeting dates can change, and the same number will confirm whether a meeting is still on. Agendas for each date are posted on the county's meetings and events calendar, and the full tax increase notice is on the Finance and Accounting page.

Watch for the digest to be certified after the rates are adopted. That is the step that turns these mill figures into the bill in your mailbox.

Keep up with Gilmer County government at Ellijay Georgia Community Website, and tell us how these rates hit your household when you join the conversation in our Community Forum. For more coverage of county and school board decisions, read our government and politics stories or browse the latest local news.

Header photo: Thomsonmg2000 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)