Whitfield County commissioners approve 1-mill cut to 2021 maintenance-and-operations tax rate

The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 on Aug. 30, 2021, to reduce the county's net maintenance-and-operations millage rate by one mill. Commissioner Greg Jones made the motion, and Commissioner John Thomas seconded it; the minutes record Commissioners Jones, Thomas, Robby Staten and Barry W. Robbins in agreement.

The motion as recorded lowers the net maintenance-and-operations rate from 8.312 to 7.312 and keeps the special tax district millage rate unchanged at 3.438. The meeting minutes include an inconsistent reference to "8.812" in the same passage; the minutes do not reconcile that figure. The document also records the final tally as 4-0 but does not state whether Chairman Jevin Jensen cast a vote.

The action was taken during a 5:00 p.m. special called meeting at 201 S. Hamilton St., Dalton. The board had met earlier the same day in a 4:00 p.m. special called meeting and moved into an executive session to discuss personnel matters; attendees for that executive session included Chairman Jevin Jensen, Commissioners Robbins, Thomas, Jones and Staten, County Attorney Robert Smalley (via teleconference) and Human Resources Director Jackie Carlo. The minutes do not provide details of the personnel discussion.

According to the minutes, the motion to approve the agenda at the 5:00 p.m. meeting passed by the same 4-0 majority before the millage vote. The minutes conclude with the clerk's signature line for Blanca Cardona and an adjournment notation.

Next steps were not specified in the minutes: the record does not state whether the millage change requires or received any subsequent administrative filings, public notices beyond the special meeting, or confirmation at a later board meeting.