Greyjoy Host posted on September 19, 2009 15:10
The 2009 property tax bills were mailed last week according to Tax Commissioner Kevin Payne. Payne has designed a new bill this year that he hopes will make the bill easier to read and understand. “We tried to design a bill with as much information as we could while keeping it simple for tax payers to read”, stated Payne. The bill will include a return envelope, a detachable stub, and a detailed list of the tax bill calculation for the first time.
Payne is expecting s tremendous amount of questions regarding tax bills this year and he wants to remind all homeowners why their tax bills may be increasing. Legislation that passed during the 2009 legislative session eliminated a credit that homeowners have previously received on their property tax bills called the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. The legislature did not approve the credit this year due to sagging state tax revenues. The credit provided for a reduction of $239.50 for Floyd County residents and $267.57 for City of Rome residents who qualified for homestead exemption in 2008. An insert will be mailed to all homeowners explaining the reason why the credit will not be available this year. Local homestead exemptions and the local homestead freeze are still in effect for homeowners in Rome and Floyd County.
Legislation was also passed this year that prevents assessment increases until January of 2011. Therefore, property assessments cannot increase unless there is an improvement made to the property, such as an addition or new construction. “It is very unfortunate that homeowners will have to pay additional taxes this year with family budgets being already hit hard. I do want to emphasize that your local governments have all absorbed significant cuts to their budgets as well and they will not be receiving any additional revenue even though some tax bills are increasing. This is purely the result of the credit from the state being eliminated. With assessments being frozen and millage rates either unchanged or reduced, your local leaders have made every effort to lessen the burden on taxpayers while maintaining adequate services to all citizens”, stated Payne.
Property taxes are due by November 15, 2009. Partial payments can be made without any penalty until November 15th. By law, interest and penalties are applied after the due date. If you have any questions about your tax bill, please call the property tax office at 706-291-5148.
“I understand that there is going to be a lot of confusion and irritation when people receive a bill that is $250.00 higher than last year. My staff and I are available to answer any questions a taxpayer may have,” stated Payne.
The property tax office is located in the Historic Courthouse at 101 W. 5th Ave. Office hours are Monday – Friday from 8am to 5pm. Taxes may also be paid online at www.floydcountytax.com. Payne can also be reached by email at paynek@floydcountyga.org.