ACC millage rate cut, but taxpayers may not benefit; library staff, others get raises
Athens-Clarke commissioners passed a 2023 budget with a lowered millage rate, but area homeowners likely won't see a decrease on their tax bills. Also, the new budget includes more pay for library staff and other government employees.
The commission this week passed its fiscal year 2023 budget for the local government after choosing between competing proposals.
The version of the budget passed was a commission-defined option (CDO) put forth by Tim Denson and Carol Myers. This CDO rivaled an option from Ovita Thornton and Mike Hamby. The key difference between the two budgets was the millage rates.
The millage rate is set yearly and is a part of an equation for calculating what a homeowner will pay in property taxes each year. Both options from commissioners wanted to decrease the millage rate, but it was a matter of how much that left commissioners disagreeing.
Denson and Myers had a rate of 13.10 mills while Thornton and Hamby proposed a rate of 12.95 mills. Both options were lower than what Mayor Kelly Girtz initially proposed, which was a rate of 13.20 mills. The current millage rate is set at 13.70 mills.
More: Athens-Clarke Mayor Kelly Girtz's budget includes pay increase for government workers
Despite decreasing the millage rate, homeowners will likely still see their property taxes hiked due to an increase in valuation.
To keep property taxes on par with what is currently being collected, the commission would have had to decrease the millage rate to 11.789 mills, also known as the rollback rate.
“The housing values are going up," said Myers. "That's very real."
When it came time to vote, the Thornton and Hamby option failed 3-7, with commissioners Thornton, Hamby and Allison Wright voting “yes.”
The Denson and Myers option passed the commission in a 9-1 vote, with Wright dissenting.
“Really, the differences between the two CDOs are minimal,” said Myers.
The budget totals $166 million, an increase of nearly $18 million from last year. With the slight decrease in millage rate from Girtz’s recommended budget, an additional $16,000 in revenue had to be shaved off in the final budget.
More: Clarke County Board of Education approves 2023 budget, millage rate over some objections
The final budget is largely the same as the proposed budget Girtz presented in April with some slight variations. Some key differences include salary changes for library staff to at least $15 per hour, something that was strongly advocated for in public forums over the past few weeks.
The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office also received a boost in the new budget, with additional overtime funds now included.
Like the recommended budget, the final budget secures pay raises for government employees. In addition to the added expense of $15 per hour minimum pay for library workers, there will be 7% pay increase for several local government employees and a chance for an up to 2% pay raise for non-public safety employees based on performance.
For public safety employees, there will be a 6% pay increase due to a step plan implemented in Fiscal Year 2021. That plan outlined a gradual way for public safety salaries to increase in the following years after it was established.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens-Clarke commission passes budget, millage rate, sets raises
