Lavonia Mayor to Bring Millage Resolution Before Franklin County Commissioners

Lavonia Mayor Courtney Umbehant plans to go before the Franklin County Board of Commissioners with a resolution asking the county to discontinue charging citizens living in municipalities a higher millage rate.

At their meeting Monday, the Mayor said he hopes other municipalities will join Lavonia in asking the extra millage to be repealed.

“If you’re a resident and taxpayer in Lavonia or any municipality, you’re paying one mil higher than anybody who lives outside the city limits in the County,” he explained. “And that’s what this resolution is about. It’s my intention to get on the agenda for the Commissioners’ work session at the end of the month and present this resolution to them, asking the County to equalize and treat our city residents the same as those who are not city residents.”

The Mayor then read the entire Resolution to the Council and citizens.

According to the Resolution, the State of Georgia collects an insurance premium tax on property insurance policies and remits a portion of the tax revenue to each county, and requires that the revenue be used in certain ways in the State.

The Resolution goes on to say that Franklin County uses that revenue from the insurance premium tax to rollback property taxes and property tax millage rates in the unincorporated part of the County which results in the city residents paying a higher county millage rate while receiving limited and reduplicated services, we, therefore, resolve to hereby request that the Franklin County Board of Commissioners use the use of the insurance premium tax to provide the required services allowed by the State as opposed to rolling back property tax rates for residents in the unincorporated areas,” he read to the Council and those attending the meeting.

“…Whereas the use of insurance premium tax in Franklin County to roll back property tax millage rates in the unincorporated areas results in the City residents paying a higher county millage rate than the county residents while receiving limited and reduplicated services. And whereas we as elected officials in the cities of Franklin County object to this unfair burden on our citizens.”

City Manager Charles Cawthon said Franklin County has been using the insurance premium tax revenue to roll back property taxes for county residents since the 1970s.

And Councilman Andrew Murphy pointed out that only 25 counties out of Georgia’s 159 counties still use that method.

After hearing from Mayor Umbehant, the Council voted unanimously to pass the Resolution.