Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Taxes Millage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pickens County Board approves 2025 school millage at 11.34 mills
Summary
The Pickens County Board of Education voted to set the 2025 school millage rate at 11.34 mills, a rollback below the calculated rollback rate; CFO warned the district will tap fund balance to cover the revenue shortfall.
The Pickens County Board of Education voted to adopt a 2025 millage rate of 11.34 mills at its Oct. 3 work session, finalizing the only formal action on the meeting agenda.
Chief Financial Officer Amy Smith told the board the district’s gross digest grew nearly 21% this year and the net digest rose about 16%, but a large increase in exemptions tied to House Bill 581 reduced taxable value. Smith said Pickens did not opt out of HB 581 and that the additional exemption will cost the district about $1.8 million in annual revenue unless state law or local action changes.
Smith also described the state-required PT-32.1 worksheet used to calculate the rollback rate. She said the calculated rollback rate was about 11.344 mills and that by adopting 11.34 mills the district is “rolling back beyond that rate,” avoiding the additional public-hearing and advertising requirements that apply when a taxing authority sets a rate above the rollback. The board’s adopted rate represents a reduction of 0.86 mills from the prior year, Smith said.
Board members were told the district had expected a roughly $555,000 dividend to fund balance under prior estimates, but the combination of digest changes and exemptions means the budget will instead require drawing about $1,350,000 from fund balance. Smith told the board the district’s fund balance is sufficient to cover that drawdown.
A motion to approve the final 2025 millage at 11.34 mills was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
The board discussed, but did not act on, a separate pending increase to the senior tax-exemption income threshold that a board resolution forwarded to state officials; Smith said any change from that measure would be reflected in the next millage calculation.
The board’s approval completes the district’s required local step for setting the school millage this year; the district also ran the required public notice and posted materials on its website, Smith said.
