Oconee School Board Scheduled To Vote On Monday On 2.27 Percent Property Tax Increase

***Final Tax Hearing Scheduled Before Vote***

The Oconee County Board of Education is poised to vote on Monday to set the millage rate at 14.25 for Oconee County Schools, down from the originally proposed 15.0, and to compensate for the lost revenue from the lower rate by drawing down the school system’s savings account, or Fund Balance.

Oconee County Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams revealed the strategy of spending reserves to allow for the reduction in the millage in two tax hearings on Monday and in a revised budget he released at the second of those hearings.

Oconee School Board To Hold on Monday First Two Of Three Required Hearings On Tax Increase For $116.6 Million Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

***Third Hearing Set For July 8***

The Oconee County Board of Education will hold two of its three required public hearings on a planned 2.27 percent tax increase at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday (July 1) at the new Instructional Support Center at 71 North Main Street in Watkinsville.

The third hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on July 8, and the Board will be able to vote on its millage rate after that hearing.

Oconee County Planning Commission Recommends Approval Of Large Commercial Center On U.S. 441 North Of Watkinsville

***Also Recommends Mars Hill Road Office Site***

The Oconee County Planning Commission on Monday recommended that the Board of Commissioners approve a request by an Atlanta developer for a 16-lot commercial subdivision on the west side of U.S. 441 between BankSouth and a planned QuikTrip north of Watkinsville.

The concept plan submitted with the application shows fast food restaurants with drive thrus, a family restaurant, an automotive oil change facility, a two-story tennis court facility, a sports club, a pet boarding facility, and a day care center.

Inflationary Growth In Oconee County Tax Digest Calls For Rollback In School, County Millage Rates To Avoid Property Tax Increases

***County Already Has Agreed To Cuts***

The Oconee County Board of Education will have to roll back its millage rate used to compute property taxes from the current 15.0 mills to 13.934 mills to avoid a tax increase.

The County’s Board of Commissioners will have to decrease its millage rate from 4.824 in the unincorporated parts of the county to 4.483 and from 5.804 in the county’s four cities to 5.375 to avoid a tax increase.

Oconee County Commissioners To Roll Back Millage Rate Again To Offset Inflation In Property Tax Assessments

***Commission Approve Probate Services Contract***

Oconee County commissioners are set to roll back the millage rate for county property taxes for the fourth year in a row and decrease the rate sufficiently to offset inflation for the second year in a row.

The new rate will not represent a tax increase, and the Commission will not be required to hold a tax hearing before setting the millage rate at its regular meeting on July 9. The Board approved the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget at the June 4 meeting.

Oconee School Board Approves Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, Protocol Limiting Board Member Access To Information From Superintendent

***Two Citizens Comment On Budget***

The Oconee County Board of Education on Monday passed its Fiscal Year 2025 General Fund Budget, approving without discussion $114.9 million in spending.

Though the action moved what had been labeled a “tentative” budget to a “final” budget, the revenue side of the document remains incomplete, pending analysis of the county’s tax digest and the setting of a final millage rate.

Most Oconee County Candidates In May Primaries And November General Election State Intent To Accept Minimum Contributions

***Next Filing Deadline June 30***

Fifteen of the 17 Oconee County candidates in the May 21 General Primary/Nonpartisan General Election completed an affidavit stating their intent not to accept more than $2,500 in campaign contributions.

They also said they would not spend more than that amount, making them exempt from filing a contribution and expenditure report with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.