The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday night to set the millage rate which increases property taxes by 6.5%.
According to the Board of Commissioners, the increase will result in a millage rate of 11.350, an increase of 0.693 mills. The tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $300,000 is approximately $82.61, and the proposed tax increase for a non-homestead property with a fair market value of $275,000 is approximately $76.23.
Commissioner Nick Newkirk was the only ‘NO’ vote Tuesday.
Chairman David Bennett did not vote as he only casts a vote in the event of a tie, but he previously expressed support for the increase to support the FY 2026 budget as approved in June.
The county released the following press release to the Statesboro Herald prior to the adoption of the millage rate:
After preparing the annual digest, if the County estimates it will collect more in property taxes than the year before because of increased assessment values, the Board of Commissioners may roll back, increase or leave the millage rate unchanged.
According to state law, for Bulloch County to legally claim it isn’t raising taxes for 2025, it would have to reduce the current millage rate of 11.350 mills to a rollback rate of 10.657 mills. The requirement to notify taxpayers that the decision not to roll back the millage rate must be represented as a tax increase is a distortionary statement. State law requires the tax increase notice to state that the 11.350 millage rate would cost an additional $82.61 for taxpayers whose home was worth $300,000 in 2025, depending on their use of a homestead exemption. It is more accurate to state that the millage rollback would save homeowners these amounts rather than if the current millage rate stayed the same. It is also important to note that homeowners that have applied for a homestead exemption for 2025 will be largely protected from any increase in taxes resulting from higher property values.
The Fiscal Year 2025 budget substantially provides additional and urgently needed public safety personnel and resources for law enforcement and the County jail, and emergency medical services throughout the County to meet the needs of a growing population. Bulloch County’s population growth will continue. Therefore, the need to address service demands at an appropriate level, now and in the future, will be an ongoing challenge. All costs have risen disproportionately to the amount of property tax and other revenues generated.
The budget adopted by the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate; therefore, before the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners may set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.
