County Taxing Authorities Convene to Set Millage Rates Based on Preliminary Digest-School Board Reduces Millage Rate and Gives Employees a Bonus

Having received a preliminary digest, both the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners met in order to make decisions on the millage rate.Fannin BOE Sees ‘Light at the End of Tunnel’ for Both School System and Tax Payer- Gives School Employees a $950.00 Bonus

An atmosphere of relief and celebration dominated the Board of Education meeting last Thursday night (September 4) in which the board voted to set the school millage rate at 12.9 mills and to give school employees a onetime check for $950.00.

Using the phrase, “beyond the roll back” School Superintendent Mark Henson described what he said should be considered a tax decrease.
He reasoned that an increase in the digest, and an increase in SPLOST funds, in addition to a balanced budget resulted in lowering each individual’s tax portion.

Nonetheless, in real terms that anyone can appreciate, the millage rate was lowered one mill-restoring it to 12.9 mills.

Henson told the group:

“We can’t emphasize how much SPLOST means to this school system.”

He reported that the school system had been saved $1.2million with the addition of the SPLOST funds. He added that $418,064.65 had been taken in for the June 2014 SPLOST. He said he believed that this was roughly what the 2006 year SPLOST brought in.

Calling the fund “so much more than buildings.” he explained that the wording in the referendum enabling SPLOST funds to be used for a variety of expenses.

Henson told the audience repeatedly that he wanted to ‘brag on’ both the board and his staff for their fiscal stewardship during the recession years.
The superintendent shared that, during the ‘fat times’ many school systems bought land and expanded. They built plush buildings with impressive technological equipment.

Those same school systems acquired debt requiring them to take very drastic actions (such as reducing school days and furloughing teachers) during significant state reductions in education funds and reductions in the county tax base.

He beamed as he recalled driving to Metro Atlanta to get ‘next-to-new’ furniture from the Dekalb County School System in order to furnish his administrative building. He said he was proud that, although the system could not boast of fancy buildings, it had repaired the ones it had, as well as retained student days to 180 per year and teacher days to 190 per year.

No teacher furloughs occurred within the recessionary period.

But the system has been through dark times.

Long time Board member Lewis DeWeese told the group he remembered well last fall when the board was forced to raise the millage rate by 1 mill but added:

“But that was the only time we raised it, we put the kids first and it was hard.”

Board member Terry Bramlett (who is also an economist) said:

“I have never been part of such a team that is so efficient and strong. I am so proud to be part of this team, so grateful.”

In other business:

Henson told the group that the state sent the county $518,000 as part of the Quality Basic Education (QBE) fund. The fund is used to redistribute monies to school systems according to a specified formula.

Henson advised the board to divide the money between all school employees. His reasoning was to compensate those on the lower end of the pay scale similarly rather than a give a greater percentage to some employees.

The result was an amount of $950.00 per employee (whether it be a teacher, bus driver, or cafeteria worker or any other staffer). Employees can expect the check (which was approved by the board) to be within their September payroll check.

The board approved $253,700 in funding for free breakfasts.

Fannin BOC Meets to Contemplate Rollback Rate

The Fannin County Board of Commissioners (BOC) held a special called meeting on Friday, Sept. 5th, to discuss a possible roll back rate. For the last six years, the county’s portion of the millage rate was 5.160 mils.

The discussed rollback could be set to 4.794 mills for the tax year.

The BOC announced that the millage rate will be set at a meeting on September 25th, at 6:00 p.m.

Watch the video below to view the called meeting.