The Catoosa County Board of Commissioners is reviewing the proposed fiscal year (FY 2023) budget that officials said "addresses significant inflationary pressure from the increased cost of materials, services, and labor with a millage rate of 7.568 mills, an increase of 1.75 mills (30.08 percent) over the calculated rollback rate of 5.818.
The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $175,000 is approximately $117.84 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $175,000 is approximately $121.31.
“After six years of holding the line on property taxes, we are left with the difficult choice to raise property taxes this year in the face of increased needs and costs for public safety and county services,” said Catoosa County Board of Commissioners Chairman Larry Black.
“We have carefully reviewed each department in search of efficiencies, but in order to maintain our essential services and remain competitive in the workforce we have to make an adjustment. The increase we are proposing is not final, as we still have work to do that includes feedback from citizens during three upcoming public hearings.”
As mandated by Georgia state law, the proposed FY 2023 budget is balanced for the General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, and the Capital Projects Funds. The proposed General Fund Budget is $36,508,921, an increase of 10.99 percent or $3.6 million over the previous year after excluding a $5.7 million transfer to the Capital Projects Fund.
Capital Projects Funds are used for the acquisition and/or construction of capital assets other than those financed by other funds, with the two largest being the 2019 SPLOST Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. Enterprise Funds are used to account for all county operations that are financed on a self-supporting basis, the largest being the Solid Waste Management Fund.
The Board of Commissioners will hold three public hearings for the proposed FY 2023 budget:
· Thursday, August 11 at 9 a.m.
· Thursday, August 11 at 6 p.m.
· Friday, August 19 at 6 p.m.
In accordance with O.C.G.A. 36-81-6, the budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023, shall be adopted at a special called meeting on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at the Catoosa County Administrative Building, 800 Lafayette Street, Ringgold, immediately following the public hearing at 6 p.m.
The proposed budget is available for public review at: https://www.catoosa.com/home/showpublisheddocument/1887