The Long County Board of Education recently proposed a tax increase for the 2009-10 budget year. According to information provided by the board, the increase is needed because state funding cuts have decreased county revenue. The school system’s loss is estimated at about $1.8 million.
The board wants to increase the property taxes levied by nearly 37 percent over the rollback millage rate from last year. In real figures, this means the board has tentatively adopted a milage rate that will require a net increase in property taxes of around 44 percent, which will generate an estimated $971,932.
According to Superintendent Dr. Robert Waters, millage calculations are a complicated process. However, he said Long County residents need to know that when the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law mandates the establishment of a rollback millage rate that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s rate would have produced, had no reassessment occurred.
The millage rate from 2004-06 was 13.5. In 2007, it was lowered to 9.852 because of the county’s property reassessments. The rate stayed the same last year.  The 2009 millage rate is proposed to go back to the 13.5.
Since the board proposed the tax increase, they will have three public hearings where residents can offer input.
The following hearings have been scheduled at the Long County Board of Education office:
• Monday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m.  
• Monday, Nov. 9, 10 a.m.
• Monday, Nov. 9, 5 p.m.
The board will have its regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9. Members will discuss and possibly adopt the budget.
All residents are encouraged to attend a hearing.