Paulding County holds first public hearing on proposed millage change; two more hearings set

Paulding County held the first of three public hearings on a proposed change to its millage rate during a meeting that opened shortly after 9 a.m.; county staff presented the proposal, explained recent state law changes affecting homestead exemptions, and no members of the public addressed the board.

Tabitha, a county staff member, told the board: "Every year we are required to go through a process for setting the millage rate," and she described how the county is advertising a 4.3 millage rate for the maintenance-and-operations portion of the property tax. "House Bill 581 established a floating homestead exemption," Tabitha added, saying the law sets a 2024 base year for homestead valuations and allows a voter referendum to add a sales-tax penny intended to reduce property taxes.

The nut of the presentation was that the advertised change is meant to account for increases in assessed values while reflecting required rollback calculations. Tabitha explained the county’s rollback requirement under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and showed sample bills to illustrate homeowner impacts: one example with a 13% assessed-value rise included a county portion increase of about $32.40 and an overall county-imposed-tax difference of roughly $16 for that parcel; a second example with a value change within 5% produced a county difference of about $3.10. She also noted that school taxes accounted for the largest share of a typical tax bill and that other components — the county bond and the fire tax — changed at different rates so the county’s overall millage was unchanged from last year.

Tabitha said the county’s maintenance-and-operations millage is being advertised at 4.3 (up from 4.1 last year for that component). She said the county’s overall millage last year was 24.875 and that figure would remain 24.875 this year because reductions in some components (for example bond) offset the increase in M&O. Tabitha also showed a historical trend, saying the county’s combined millage has fallen since 2017.

Officials opened the meeting for public comment and received none. The chair asked for a motion to adjourn the public hearing; Miss Galloway moved to adjourn, an unnamed board member seconded, and the chair called the question. The motion carried by voice vote and the chair adjourned the hearing. Tabitha told the board this was the first of three scheduled hearings: one the same day at 6:30 p.m. and a third at 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 12, at which the board will continue to accept public input.

The presentation also referenced surrounding counties’ actions: Tabitha said Cobb County was expected to leave its millage unchanged, Cherokee and Floyd counties had increases, and Carroll County indicated it would roll back its rate. Tabitha cautioned that some numbers in her slides were last year’s figures because other counties were still completing the same advertising process.

Because no public comments were offered at this hearing, no public statements were taken into the record. The board neither adopted nor rejected any millage at this session; it advertised the proposed millage and set follow-up hearings for additional public comment.

The county presented the mechanics of the rollback rate and gave homeowners examples of how the floating homestead exemption in House Bill 581 can affect tax bills by establishing a base year for homestead assessments (2024 or the year of purchase thereafter).

Next steps: the county will take further public comment at the scheduled evening hearing and on Aug. 12; any formal adoption or change to the millage rate will be recorded at a subsequent meeting after the advertised hearings and any required legal notifications.