Respondents to the petition demand Douglas County (GA) Commissioners not to raise 2020 property taxes! 

Citizens of Douglasville, Villa Rica, Lithia Springs, Austell, Anneewakee, Beulah, Bill Arp, Chapel Hill, Fairplay, Fouts Mill, Hannah, McWhorter, Tributary, White City and Winston take note!

From the Douglas County (GA) Board of Commissioners Press Release:

PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING A PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

http://www.celebratedouglascounty.com/view/global/viewdownload3/&docid=7319&file=/Press_Release_Updated.pdf

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners today announces its intention to increase the 2020 property taxes it will levy this year by 32.96 percent over the rollback millage rate.

Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county. When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase or decrease in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment.

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year's digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

The budget adopted by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate; therefore, before the Douglas County Board of Commissioners may finalize and set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held remotely via Microsoft Teams August 18, 2020 at 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM and on August 26, 2020 at 10:00 AM. The live public hearing will be broadcasted at the link listed below: (https://Douglascounty.viebit.com Citizens may register to speak at the public hearing via Microsoft Teams with the County Clerk at (lwatson@co.douglas.ga.us) / by voicemail (770-920- 7416) or citizens may call in at 229-302-4628. Conference ID for the 10:00 AM meeting August 18th is 861 373 808#, Conference ID for the 6:00 PM meeting August 18th is 644 116 26#, Conference ID for the 10:00 AM meeting August 26th is 219 314 835#.

The County will adopt the millage rate at the meeting on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 following the 10:00 AM public hearing to discuss the tax increase. The meeting will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams and will be broadcasted at the link listed below: (https://Douglascounty.viebit.com Citizens may register to speak at the public hearing via Microsoft Teams with the County Clerk at lwatson@co.douglas.ga.us) / by voicemail (770-920- 7416) or citizens may call in at 229-302-4628, Conference ID 219 314 835#.