Russell County hears pleas to lower proposed tax rate; board delays vote

Russell County supervisors held a public hearing on the 2025 proposed real-estate tax rate and heard more than an hour of public comment urging the board to lower the rate rather than pass an increase. The board did not set a tax rate at the meeting and scheduled a reconvened session for Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

The hearing matters because county property assessments rose sharply this year, meaning even an unchanged rate could raise taxpayers’ bills; supervisors and county staff said they are balancing those assessment-driven revenue gains against new expenses including a larger regional jail bill, rising insurance and utility costs, and school system requests for pay steps and a supplemental raise.

County administrator Lonzo Lesher presented the assessment and budget numbers to the board and the public. Lesher said the county’s assessed value rose from about $1.485 billion to about $1.933 billion, an increase of roughly $468 million (about 23.5 percent overall). He told the audience that, based on the new assessment roll, lowering the tax rate to 48.23 cents per $100 of assessed value would return the county to roughly the same gross revenue it received last year despite higher assessments. "What you want is the board of supervisors to lower that rate back down to 48.23. That's that's the magic number," Lesher said during his presentation.

Lesher and staff also identified three major new cost drivers the…