Net digest down 9.4%; schools down 10.3%

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Net digest down 9.4%; schools down 10.3%

Posted by

Staff Writer

in Top Stories & Breaking News, Winder Archives

Saturday, September 4. 2010

Comments (4)

Barrow County’s net tax digest plunged this year, according to the recently released county numbers.

For the general Barrow County government, the tax digest was $1.66 billion this year, down 9.4 percent from $1.83 billion last year. For the county school system, the digest went from $1.83 billion last year to $1.64 billion this year, a drop of 10.3 percent. It’s the second year in a row the digest has fallen in the county.

The effect of the declining digest is that if county tax rates stay the same, local governments will collect less money. The county government has already announced at least a one-mill tax hike this fall to offset the lower digest numbers.

A decline had been predicted following the county tax assessors’ second countywide reassessment in two years.

Despite the lower tax digest, the Barrow County Board of Education on Tuesday night gave tentative approval to keeping its property tax rate at the current 18.5 mills. But Ken Cato, executive director of finance, told the board that the school system would not feel the full impact of the digest drop because he built into the FY2011 budget an anticipated 6-percent dip. And he said the recently announced pool of federal stimulus funds for education jobs could cover the remaining shortfall.

Georgia is expected to get about $322 million of federal “Education for Jobs” funds, and Barrow County schools is slated to get a $2.3 million share. The school system should know this week whether that money will be available.

He and BOE chairman Mark Still both cautioned, however, that state officials might see the federal funding as a way to help the state budget by cutting state funding for local education.

They urged board members to contact local legislators to urge them not to do that, especially given what is expected to be an even bleaker outlook for FY2012.

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#1 Anonymous on 09/04/10 at 07:42 AM [Reply]

Billions, huh? What are we worried about?

#1.1 Anonymous on 09/04/10 at 11:59 AM [Reply]

No, No that would mean we had elected DuWayne Anderson.

#2 DuWayne R. Anderson on 09/07/10 at 06:52 AM [Reply]

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Maybe we should rethink the $15,000,000.we as a county invested in "GA 1 fund". I wonder what Mr. Anonymous thinks about THAT investment by the BOC, while our county sinks near the bottom of the financial barrel? Maybe we should reduce that investment to $13.5 million, and use the rest to balance our own budget so we can survive as a county for at least another year! We dip into reserves all the time to make up for deficits, so if you defend that practice, then reducing the GA 1 Fund investment should not be a problem. Or should it? Something to think about.......

DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA

#3 Jack Legg on 09/08/10 at 02:11 PM [Reply]

Show us some proof that we are low on money. Danny Dumbwood and crew are not believable to the vast majority of Barrow Countians.
I think thats its all a sham in order to get the citizenry up in arms about services to the point that we all say to them ,ok rsiase our taxes.Its a dirty trick.
Lets see a roll back of millage rates and an increase in sales tax, lets see a forced collection of over due taxes, and then lets see if we are in arrears.
The simple fact is that dumbwood and crowd ,like all politicians want to raise our taxes so that their pet projects and friends and family members can profit off of all of us, but they are still trying to hedge their bet for the next election by scaring enough citizens into demanding that their own taxes be raised.
Danny Dumbwood and crowd think that the people around here are stupid and ignorant ,and sadly many of you are.
Dont believe thier lies , the sky is not about to fall, demand accountability from them, demand proof that we are out of money.
P.S. your word that we are out of money dannyboy carries no weight.Your word is meaningless, so unless you have some proof,try a new tact.

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