June 30, 2009 10:12 pm
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Tifton and Tift County residents can all be thankful that none of our local governments found it necessary to raise taxes this year.
On Monday, the City of Tifton approved a budget calling for the same millage rate as last year, and both the Tift County Board of Education and Tift County government have done the same in recent weeks.
This isn’t the case in all Georgia counties — some have been forced to raise taxes to maintain operations — and any increase would have had a particularly heavy impact because the state didn’t appropriate money for homestead property tax relief for the next fiscal year.
In May, Tift County Tax Commissioner Gene Goode warned taxpayers to expect their total tax bill to go up $200-$300 this year, and that was before any local increases. The General Assembly voted during the last session not to make the grant available again unless state revenues grow at least 3 percent plus the rate of inflation during the year.
The city, county and school board have served local residents well by tightening their belts and managing resources carefully, and we appreciate their efforts.
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