Columbia County sets millage at rollback rate; M&O set at 4.36 mills

The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 25-19 at its July meeting to set the county’s property tax millage at the rollback rate approved during the budget process. County staff told commissioners that using the rollback rate should offset much of the increase in property assessments.

The county’s M&O rollback rate was presented as 4.36 mills; the total county-side millage, including fire and debt service, was reported as 4.814 mills. County staff also reported that the school board had rolled its millage back to 16.234 mills.

Why it matters: When property values (the tax digest) rise, the rollback rate is calculated to lower the millage so that revenue remains roughly level with the prior year; adopting the rollback rate can reduce the tax impact of rising assessed values for many taxpayers.

County staff explained the concept during the meeting: "The rollback rate, basically what happens is when you have the increase in the digest, we have to compute a rate that would essentially negate the increase in the digest," a staff member said. The staff member added that some property owners whose values rose more than the average could still see higher bills, while those with declining values could see significant decreases.

Commissioner Malia moved to approve Resolution 25-19 as presented and authorized the chairman to sign required documents. A second was made; the motion passed after commissioners voted in favor by voice/hand.

No additional hearings were scheduled because the board chose to adopt the rollback rate rather than set a higher millage that would have required additional millage hearings, staff said.

Ending: Commissioners and staff described the action as consistent with past practice and said it should provide relief to many taxpayers amid rising property values.