With the recent millage rate increase, FYN set out to figure out where does your tax dollars go? Is the local Fair Share Program really just the government playing Robin Hood?The Local Fair Share is a Georgia based program that helps schools in need. The FS does this by taking from the wealthy counties and giving back to the poor. The reason why this system is put into place is because a school system in a county can only levy 20 mils. So if that 20 mils is not enough for a county school system to operate; this is how they would get the rest of there money to survive.

Each year school systems are made to send in five mils of their taxes. The Sales Ratio Division is an entity that determines how much the five mils of a specific county should equal.

According to the GA Department of Audits, “The Sales Ratio is responsible for establishing and preparing an equalized adjusted property tax digest for each county in the state and for the state as a whole for the current calendar year (Official Code 48-5-274). The studies are used in allocating state funds for public school systems.”

The tax digest is a figure that is comprised to see what a county is worth. There are five types of property for each county that is assessed to come up with this figure. The assessed value should be 40% of real value. The goal for a county is for the Sales Ratio to be within 36%-40%.

If a county doesn’t fall into this category they would have to pay more in. For example, Fannin County’s Sales Ratio was 33.80% for the year 2012. When it comes to pay in their five mils they have to pay for 40% assessed value; but they only collected for 33.8% costing the county and school system even more money. The shortfall of the Sales Ratio for this year, the county sent in $642,123 that it did not collect through property taxes.

Over the past few years Fannin County has been below the 36-40% range. To try and change this, the county has sent in appeals this year along with the past two.

Superintendent Mark Henson spoke on the appealing the Sales Ratio.

“It hasn’t always been successful appealing, but in the past it has brought the percentage up a point or two saving that much money; so it is worth trying to do.”

For the 2012, Fannin County sent in $6,789,555 to go to other school systems. To put that in perspective, the new one mil increase only added $1,164,879 to the Fannin Budget. In retrospect without the Fair Share program Fannin could lower its millage rate. Henson put it best,

“I think its great to look over all students (making sure they get a quality education) but we need to make sure the formula is truly fair.”

Everyone deserves an equal chance. This program is trying to make that possible, but some richer counties, for example Gwinnett, get a portion of the Sales Ration because they have a low tax digest.

Education is important, and should be available for every child. The Fair Share may be designed to give every child the same quality education but it raises a few unanswered questions. Is a county school system that cannot support itself really a county school system? How can the state set wages for school personal when it’s impossible for counties to afford some of them? With raising healthcare cost and other cost what happens if a donor county can not give anymore? Why does your county property tax not all go to your county?

These are just a few questions that were brought up to FYN, and hopes that we gave you a little better of an understanding on where your tax money goes and how you as a property owner are helping schools.