Is Your City, County or School Board Doing It Right?

To analyze your city or county's millage rate, follow these simple steps:

1. Request the necessary data from your city or county via an "open records request;"
2. Compute the millage rate manually, use our online calculator or download our self-calculating Millage Worksheet (Excel);
3. Tell us what you found out!

1. Sample Open Records Request
The information that you need to compute your city or county's correct millage rate for the current year is available upon request via Georgia's "Open Records Act." You may use the following template to create your own open records request for information.

Just "copy and paste" the following into a word processor document or email. Be sure to customize the italicized information to suit your specific request.  Direct your request to the appropriate person, who for these purposes would be the City, County or School System Administrator or Clerk, the City or County Manager or, in the absence of such an official, the Mayor or County Commission Chairman.

Date

Agency Contact Person
Agency Name
Agency Street Address
Agency City, State, Zip

To Whom It May Concern:

Please consider this an open records request for the described document(s). For your convenience and if there will be no charge, you may fax the requested document(s) to 770-123-4567. Otherwise, I can receive the information in the manner that you choose.

If you are not the custodian of the described documents, your assistance in directing this request to the proper authority will be greatly appreciated.

I request an opportunity to inspect, or by agreement receive a duplicate copy of, those portions of any documents under your administration and containing the following information:

1. total budgeted M&O expenditures for fiscal year 2005;
2. the figure representing the portion of the M&O budget to be funded by property taxes for fiscal year 2005; (If you use a different amount to calculate the millage for both unincorporated and incorporated portions, please include both.)
3. the most recent (or published) net tax digest for 2005; (If you use a different amount to calculate the millage for both unincorporated and incorporated portions, please include both.)
4. the proposed/adopted millage rate(s) for fiscal year 2005;

with the exception of those portions specifically exempted by Georgia law.

As you know, the Georgia Open Records Act states reasonable charges may be assessed "for search, retrieval, and other direct administrative costs for complying with a request under this Code section. The hourly charge shall not exceed the salary of the lowest paid full-time employee who, in the discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training to perform the request; provided, however, that no charge shall be made for the first quarter hour." O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d).

I am prepared to pay reasonable search and retrieval fees if necessary. As you know, advance payment is not required under the Act. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(g). Instead, once documents are requested, charges for all costs incurred by your agency can be collected in the same manner as taxes due. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(g).

In order to make such a fee request, however, your agency must first notify me of the estimated cost of the copying, search, retrieval and other authorized fees before they are incurred. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71.2.

If this request is denied in whole or in part, the law requires your agency to justify all deletions by reference to exemptions of the Georgia Open Records Act, specifying code section, subsection and paragraph. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h). The law also requires you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(g).

Also, the Open Records Act sets fines up to $100 for any person who fails to provide a requested public document within three (3) business days, unless there are out-of-the-ordinary extenuating circumstances. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-74. Therefore, I expect your agency to produce the requested records within the three-day limit or give written reasons why not, and the specific date the records will be available. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(f)

Thank you for your assistance. My goal is to receive the information in a manner that causes the least inconvenience to you and your staff. Should your have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [your telephone number] or via email at [your email address].

Best regards,

Your name
Your title
Your fax number

2. Calculate the Millage Rate
With information in hand, calculation of the millage rate is easy. You can do it manually or try our online calculator.

3. Report Your Findings
Please send us the results of your analysis.  Your input and participation is critical to our effort to bring honesty to the property taxation process in Georgia! Contact us