The Liberty County Board of Education is trimming its millage rate back too.

School board members agreed to adopt a millage rate of 14.44, a decrease from last year’s rate of 15.25 mills. It also is the rollback rate.

Since the rollback rate was adopted, no public hearings on the millage were mandated. Had a rate higher than the rollback rate been approved, even if it was lower than the previous year’s millage rate, it would have triggered three public hearings on the matter.

“We are operating with enhanced operational and administrative effectiveness and efficiency, allowing us to provide property tax relief for our residents while ensuring adequate support for our teachers and students,” said Superintendent Dr. Franklin Perry.

Each year, the tax assessors are required to evaluate the assessed value of taxable properties in the county. If recent sales trends indicate an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the assessors must legally reassess and adjust the property’s value accordingly.

When the total taxable property digest is prepared, Georgia law mandates that a rollback millage rate be calculated to ensure that the current year’s revenue matches what last year’s millage rate would have generated without a reassessment. 

“It proves we are careful with our authority to tax,” board Chair Verdell Jones said of the millage rate adoption.

The school board’s general fund budget, adopted in June, is approximately $144.9 million for the current fiscal year. Of that, about $29.4 million is expected to come from local property taxes. The bulk of the school system’s revenue, more than $96.2 million, will come from the state.