ST. MATTHEWS – Calhoun County is dropping its tax rate, but individual property owners may see little change due to the recent reassessment.

Calhoun County taxpayers will probably see a 12-mill drop in the county and school millage rate and, at the same time, receive a significant increase in the relief offered by the local option sales tax.

The millage change, County Administrator Lee Prickett explained, is due to the increased value of property.

“Taxes may still go up; a good majority may go up slightly,” he said, depending on the individual situation.

During reassessment, counties evaluate each parcel of property to see how its value has changed for property tax purposes. Under the recent reassessment, the value of Calhoun County properties as a whole increased by 23 percent. The change on individual properties varied.

With the county’s property having a higher value, the county needs fewer mills to collect the same amount of property tax.

County Council, meeting Monday in a special session, overrode the millage cap and set the county millage rate. Next Monday, during the regular session, council is scheduled to set the school millage rate and to authorize the property tax credit factor.

The county budget will see a millage reduction of six mills, Prickett said prior to the afternoon session. Of that, four mills will come from debt service and two mills will come from capital improvements.

Council Chairman David Summers noted that the county is losing $365,000 in car tax revenue “that Columbia started. That’s coming off and is tacked on to your house. We tried to tell people when they thought Columbia was doing them a big favor.”

In addition, Summers said, the county will be losing some $500,000 in revenue from older industries.

“It’s almost $900,000 in taxes total, from old industry that’s been here a long time and car taxes,” he said. “And the only way you can get it is on houses. ... It’s got to be made up somehow.”

However, Summers said 2007 should be better.

“Taxes should be down below 2005,” he said. “This will be a bump year. In 2007, we’ll be able to get them down below 2005, if we don’t have too much with the school and borrowing.”

According to state law, council was required to hold the special millage-setting session to override the millage cap by a supermajority vote.

In addition to dealing with the school tax millage rate, which is also expected to be reduced by six mills, Prickett said, council will also set the credit factor for the local option sales tax. The approved .000734 rate equates to a tax break of $73.40 on a $100,000 valuation.

“You take the fair market value and multiply that times the credit factor and that’s what you get off,” he said.

Last year, the .000448 rate meant that a taxpayer received $44.80 per $100,000 valuation.

“We had a $234,284 surplus from what we gave back last year,” Prickett said. “The total amount is $617,244 we estimate to give back to all property owners in the county.”

Under the local option sales tax plan passed by county voters in 2004, 71 percent of the tax collected goes for property tax reduction. Council earmarked the other 29 percent to help the fire department.

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