VALDOSTA — The city approved the rollback millage rate of 7.809 for the city, 5 mills for property located in the Central Valdosta Development area and 16.751 mills set by the Valdosta City School System. A move that should have most homeowners paying about the same property taxes as last year.

At a special called meeting Wednesday, the Valdosta City Council voted 6-0 to reduce the millage rate by 0.107 from the 7.916 mills approved last year. Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody was absent.

The rollback rate is computed under Georgia law to account for an increase in property values.

If the city wanted to increase the millage rate beyond the rollback rate, then three public hearings would be required and the city would have to run advertisements advising the public of a proposed tax increase.

The information the city received from the Lowndes County Tax Commissioners Office shows an overall decrease in the city’s net tax digest of $2,117,719, but about a $20 million increase in reassessments produced a rollback millage rate of 7.809.

Valdosta has a history of maintaining a conservative millage rate, and the city has increased the millage rate only three times in the last 25 years while it has reduced the millage rate 12 times during that same period.

The rollback will mean a loss of about $420,000 to the city’s budget, City Manager Mark Barber said.

Although the millage rate went back, it does not constitute a tax decrease, Barber said. That’s not to say someone’s taxes won’t go down.

“If you have a property that’s value stayed about the same, your taxes may go down,” he said. “Now, if your value went up, your taxes are going up this year, but that’s not because of our millage rate. That’s because of the reevaluation.”

When dealing with the millage rate, Barber said it’s never as simple as an increase or decrease because there are so many variables and exemptions to consider.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256