MillageRate.com

Gwinnett County has adopted and published MillageRate.com’s definition of “millage” at its web site:

Millage: One “mill” equals $1.00 of property taxes for every $1,000 of assessed valuation. The total millage rate is derived by dividing the portion of the county budget to be funded by property taxes each year by the total assessed valuation (net digest) of the taxable property within the county. Other taxing authorities should calculate the millage in the same way. The rates of several taxing authorities may combine to make up your total tax bill including county, schools and municipal operations, bond (debt) retirement (if any) and any special tax districts, if applicable. The state of Georgia also assesses a tax of 1/4-mill.

Responding to calls from local taxpayers for an effective avenue to express their displeasure with rising tax bills and other issues, MillageRate.com has partnered with Shoestring Solutions, a Gwinnett County web publisher, to sponsor an online discussion forum in Camden County, GA.

AboutCamden.com will quickly become a focal point for discussion of local tax issues and political topics in general, said MillageRate.com founder Bob Griggs.

AboutCamden.com joins a growing list of discussion forums around the state which encourage discussion of property tax issues including MillageRate.com’s effort to promote honesty in taxation in Georgia. Other forums include:

1. TalkGwinnett.com
2. LumpkinSunshine.com
3. AboutBryanCounty.com
4. AboutClarkston.com

MillageRate.com has published a high-powered tool to calculate millage rates and their impact on the individual taxpayer’s bill. You will find the interactive, self-calculating spreadsheet here:

“The Mega-Millage-Calculator”

This tool requires that you be able to install certain Microsoft web controls. You will need administrative authority on your PC and possibly even Microsoft Office; at the very least Microsoft Excel.

If you have Excel but cannot access the online calculator, email us at somebody@millagerate.com and we will be happy to send you the spreadsheet for offline use.

How to use the calculator… Read more…

If you are a journalist covering local government, you know that the ad valorem (property tax) process can be complicated and difficult to explain to your readers. But are you truly doing an adequate job of reporting on this important topic if YOU don’t understand it yourself; specifically, how the millage rate is supposed to be calculated?

If, according to our research, over 9 out of 10 cities, counties and school boards are not “doing the math,” then AT LEAST one and probably more taxing authorities within your paper’s coverage area is either OVERTAXING or UNDERTAXING your readers. Isn’t that a bigger story than if the millage rate is staying the same as last year or being rolled back slightly?

We welcome your inquiries about this important topic. We will be happy to explain the process to you, as well as assist in the research and preparation for your next story on the millage rate. Contact us at somebody@millagerate.com.

Most City Councils, County Commissions and School Boards across the state have calculated and adopted their millage (tax) rate for this year. We have researched dozens of taxing authorities and have only found TWO that adopted a mathematically-correct millage rate… but we’re even not sure that they did it on purpose!

If you are an elected official of a Georgia city, county or school system which has or is about to adopt a mathematically-correct millage rate, PLEASE contact us! We would love to feature your jurisdiction at MillageRate.com