COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton commissioners voted to lower the property tax rate by 14% to fund the county government through mid-2022 Tuesday night.
The Newton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to decrease the tax rate from 12.916 mills to 11.145 mills Tuesday, Aug. 17.
County Manager Lloyd Kerr said the tax rate was calculated based on the county’s tax digest — the total assessed value of taxable property — which increased by $424 million this year to $3.4 billion.
It will help fund the 2022 budget which the Board voted 3-2 to approve on Aug. 3 and funds all of county government except the school system through June 30, 2022.
The county government budget totals $118.6 million and delays hiring of 32 new positions until January 2022 while giving a 4.5% pay increase to almost 700 county employees.
Spending in the budget’s largest part, the General Fund, totaled $77.6 million — a 1.4% increase from the 2021 budget.
The overall budget, however, increased spending 41% from 2021 mostly because expenditures for projects funded by the 2017 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) were included, Kerr said.
Board members approved the document after Kerr cut $500,000 from a first version of the 2022 budget that he gave to board members June 1.
County Finance Director Brittany White told the Board Aug. 3 that the tax rate of 11.145 mills was below the rollback rate of 11.5 mills.
The state mandates that a rollback rate be calculated that is the one that would produce the same amount of revenue as the previous year’s rate if reassessments had not been done.
In other action, the board:
• Approved a contract with Lose & Associates Inc. for a Comprehensive Master Plan for the Recreation Department. The cost is $93,500 with funding from SPLOST.
The plan will include information on expected county population growth patterns, assessment of existing facilities, recommendations for future park construction and staffing and financing.
A series of community meetings in each commission district also are planned to determine residents' desires for recreation facilities in unincorporated Newton County, officials said.
• Delayed action on a request from Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority and the city of Covington for approval of a service delivery strategy plan agreement for unincorporated Newton County.
• Approved a Parks and Recreation department request to apply for a Georgia DNR Recreational Trails Program grant for construction of new trails and improvement of existing trails.
• Approved extension of a contract with Ascension PM to provide additional oversight and management for construction of Fire Station No. 4 on County Hwy. 213. Cost is $33,580 and will come from the 2011 SPLOST and bond financing for Station 4.
• Approved a change order on a contract with Atlas Technical Consultants for additional engineering work on a new bridge on Brown Bridge Road over the Yellow River. Cost is $49,800 with funding from federal funds and the 2017 SPLOST.
• Appointed Terria Maxwell and Kathryn Rider to View Point Health board; and Adam Phyall III to the Newton County Library board.
