Sunday, August 14, 2022

Oconee County Schools Will Receive More Property Tax Revenue Than Budgeted Even After Approved Cut In Millage Rate

***Rollback Millage Rate Also Produced Budgeted Revenue***

Administrators of Oconee County Schools underestimated the size of the county’s Tax Digest in the budget the Board of Education approved on June 6 by $195 million, or 7.4 percent. (See Note below.)

As a result, that budget underestimated the amount of tax revenue Oconee County Schools would have expected to have received had the Board set the tax rate at 16.25 mills as recommended by Superintendent Jason Branch by just less than $4.5 million.

Board Member Wayne Bagley cited that underestimation of the Tax Digest when, following citizen protests, he proposed at the end of the meeting on Aug. 1 that the millage rate be dropped to 15.5 from the 16.5 of last year, rather than only to 16.25.