Rockdale County adopts 2025 rollback millage of 18.284; returns full host penny to taxpayers

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners voted to set the 2025 millage rate at the rollback level of 18.284 and to apply a 50.29% host percentage, adopting the resolution by voice vote. Commissioner Williams moved to set the millage and host percentage; another commissioner seconded the motion and the chair declared the motion carried.

County interim finance director Sue Sanders, who led the presentation, said the proposed 18.284 millage is a rollback from 2024 and that it would generate approximately $91,030,520 in property-tax revenue. She said non-property revenues are estimated at $38,147,777, for total 2025 revenues of about $129,178,297. Sanders told the board the rollback rate is "the rate needed to generate the same amount of total revenue from property taxes as the previous year."

Sanders also outlined how the county’s general fund is budgeted: she said 42% goes to public safety (sheriff, fire rescue, EMS and related services), 37% to general government functions (including the board of commissioners, finance and tax offices), 10% to court services and smaller shares to recreation and transportation. She said, for homesteaded properties in Rockdale County, roughly 78% of the property-tax dollar goes to the school system and 22% to the county for maintenance and operations.

During a public explanation of terms, an unidentified speaker said, "each mill represents $1 of $1,000 in property value," and repeated the sample calculations presented: a $100,000 home with homestead and host exemptions would pay about $227 (compared with roughly $731 without exemptions), while a $350,000 home would pay about $1,136 with exemptions (about $2,560 without).

Resident Nick Duva urged the county to view taxes as an "investment in our community" and requested a combined meeting with the school system next year so residents could see the total tax impact across both entities. The chair invited public comment and thanked participants.

Commissioners discussed the "host" credit (a one-cent local sales-tax credit applied against homesteaded property bills). Staff said the resolution uses a 50.29% host percentage and that the county is recommending returning 100% of host collections to taxpayers (even though the county could legally retain up to 20% for capital). The chair and other commissioners encouraged residents to "shop The Rock" to help maintain local sales tax revenue.

Because the board adopted the rollback rate, county staff said no additional public hearings were required; the tax commissioner's office will forward the adopted millage to the state to complete the process. The meeting adjourned after the vote.