Lavonia Holds Line on Millage Rate

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

The City of Lavonia will keep its millage at the same rate it has been for the past two decades.

At their regular meeting last week, the Lavonia City Council voted to keep the rate the same.

Even though the City’s fiscal year begins and ends with the calendar year, the City must vote on their millage when Franklin County Tax Commissioner Bobby Martin gets the tax digest ready.

City Manager Gary Fesperman said the City will keep the millage at 10 mills.

“The City of Lavonia has been very consistent with its millage rate throughout the years,” Fesperman said. “That provides stability for the taxpayer base. They pretty much know what to expect on their tax bills. We try to work within our means that allows us to do. Some years are good, some years are not so good but overall it balances out. That seems to work for the City and that’s what we’re going to do this year.”

Fesperman said this fiscal year’s tax digest is down about $20,000 over the last fiscal year.

The City manager said no one issue contributed to the drop in the tax digest revenue.

“Some of it was in residential. Some homes had been foreclosed on and had been taken off the digest,” he said. “There were some other in the commercial side. A little commercial and a little industrial was down as well, but when you add it up, it was a minor $20,000 difference from last year.”

Last year’s projected tax digest was $869,176 and this year’s projected tax digest is $848,660.

The City of Lavonia has not raised its millage rate in some 20 years.

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