The Gilmer County Board of Education approved a tentative millage rate of 12.642 for advertisement.
The figure was announced last Thursday at the board’s regular meeting and is a rollback of 1.339 mills from 2020’s rate of 13.963.
“We received our 2021 consolidated tax digest from our tax commissioner Mrs. Becky Marshall,” said Gilmer Schools’ chief financial officer Trina Penland. “You’ll see in 2021 we had an increase in the digest and had an increase in everything except motor vehicles, but the total gross digest increased 15.85 percent.”
The millage rate has steadily declined from a high in 2011 of 17.75 mills to the current tentative rate of 12.624.
“When you look at the collections, the board of education is going to levy $18.169 million,” Penland said. “Back in 2008, we levied $22.2 million and in 2009 we levied $24.7 million. We’re operating on much less dollars than we were in those years. When we approved our FY22 budget, we based it on the rollback.”
The board of education set a called meeting for Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. to approve the tentative rate, which will receive final approval from the county on Aug. 12.