IRWINTON, Ga. — A tax rollback may be on the way for some people in Wilkinson County.
The county's Board of Education and county commissioners announced they're considering a millage rollback after a number of property owners asked for relief.
In December 2023, nearly 200 Wilkinson County homeowners filed a lawsuit against the tax assessor's board, saying their properties were incorrectly valued. 13WMAZ confirmed there's no settlement in the case, due to it still being in the discovery phase. However, homeowners say if the 2024 assessment goes through, their bill could double or even triple.
"I was paying about $2,482. Now, I'm gonna end up paying $5,079. That's more than double," longtime Wilkinson County resident Bill Dalacos said.
County commissioners and Board of Education members held a meeting to discuss the county's millage rate Friday morning. Some residents were sure this was a tax assessment public hearing, so the court room was packed.
"Someone had posted that there was gonna be a meeting at 10 a.m. this morning," Dalacos said. "So that's why I showed up and I'm sure that's why the courtroom was packed - standing room only."
But Commission Chairman Tony Bentley made it very clear that this meeting was not the time nor place. A few minutes after calling the meeting to order, he redirected people to the tax assessor's office if they want to appeal the property tax value on their property.
Bentley said he understands the homeowners' concerns which is why he says they decided to roll back this year's millage rate close to last year's.
"Once we get the total digest back, we will set the millage rate to reflect what the county needs and to also take into considerations of not increasing the citizens taxes," Bentley said.
In the meantime, he encourages concerned folks to appeal their tax assessment before the Oct. 4 deadline.
Dalacos said he'll be one of those appealing.
"I've been appealing it every year and they sit there and talk about how well this hasn't been done in 10 years. I can understand the taxes need to go up some, but to do a double in one year, that's astronomical," Dalacos said.
Commissioners and school board members have the option of rolling back the millage rate to offset the higher values, keeping most people's tax bills about the same but Bentley says they're waiting to set rates after the appeal process.