Yearwood calls Mon. meeting of BOC; no tax rate yet set

Barrow County commission chairman Danny Yearwood has called a meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners for 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, to discuss the fiscal year 2012 budget.

On Aug. 23 Yearwood cast the deciding vote against setting a tentative tax increase of 1.92 mills for the fiscal year starting in five weeks. He said he wasn't sure Georgia law required the board to set a tentative rate prior to its adoption of the final rate in September.

But the following day – after learning that a specific rate would have to be included in the advertised public notice prior to the start of public hearings – he attempted to have the county’s chief financial officer advertise the higher rate without the board's approval.

But CFO Rose Kisaalita stated that she could not do that after consulting with the county’s chief appraiser, the tax commissioner, and the secretary of the Board of Assessors – who all told her the BOC “has to vote for a tentative mill increase.”

Sources told the Barrow Journal on Thursday afternoon that Yearwood on Monday is planning to start over on the budget. He did not participate in the months of budget committee meetings.

For now, the three public hearings required for implementing a tax increase are scheduled for noon and 6 p.m. on Sept. 6 and 6 p.m. on Sept. 13. The BOC’s adoptions of the budget and millage rate are scheduled for Sept. 13, which is two weeks before the new fiscal year begins.

However, since this week’s public advertising deadline was not met, the budget timetable could change.