The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

(From the August 16, 2006 issue)
    A local elected official recently commented that it would be interesting to see a comparison of millage rates of the counties in the area, so the newspaper researched the rates and prepared the charts at right as a bit of “general information” news. The bars representing the four counties in our coverage area are in blue, while the counties in the surrounding area are gray. A total of 19 counties are included.
    Please note that these figures are from 2005. Area governments are currently in the process of setting millage rates for 2006. For instance, the Marion School Board plans to officially set its millage rate for the next fiscal year in a meeting on September 12 (with plans to keep the same rate), while the Marion County Commission plans to vote on August 12 to lower its millage rate to 7.354. So, the charts at right are the most up-to-date figures, but the exact “places” on the charts may shift a bit once everyone approves their 2006 rates.
    Other things to keep in mind, include:
    * The charts do not include the millage rates of the various incorporated areas in the counties. If you live inside a “city limits” in one of the counties included, there is an additional millage rate used when your taxes are computed. This is due to the fact that incorporated cities offer extra services and often use property taxes as one of the ways to help pay for those services.
    * The state millage rate is not figured in with these charts, but that rate is the same for each county, so it would not proportionately affect where any of the counties was placed on the chart.
    * The “School” chart also does not include any millage rates used to pay for specific bonds, but those are separate items that are approved by each county’s voters, rather than to help pay for maintenance and operation.
    * County governments and boards of education use a variety of revenue sources in addition to property taxes to pay for the services they provide. The charts above do not show any of the other revenue sources used by the various area governments.

Click Below for
Downloadable PDFs

County Millage Rate Chart

School Millage Rate Chart