Only one local resident showed up at last week's hearings on Wilkes County's proposed millage rate for 2006 taxes and when he found out that the actual rate had not increased, he was satisfied, thanked the commissioners, and left.

A proposed $471,049 increase in the amount of tax levied for the coming year prompted Sam Bradley to attend the hearing and question the increase. He was especially concerned over the $52 million increase

in the assessed value of property in the county. His understanding was that, in addition to the increase in assessed value, the tax millage rate was going to increase by about 13 percent.

But he had been misled by the state-mandated wording of an advertisement in this newspaper which announced the hearings and the proposed increases. County Administrator David Tyler showed Bradley the formula by which the state calculated the advertised figure but also indicated that the published tax history was easier to understand.

Tyler pointed out that while the assessed value of property in the county had increased, the proposed millage rates for taxes this year are actually lower than for 2005. In the unincorporated area of the county, the rate dropped only slightly from 8.861 to 8.860, while in the incorporated area the rate dropped from 9.474 to 9.392. So, the increase in net taxes will come from the new assessed value rather than the millage rate.

"It's good to have the things we need taxes for," Bradley said, "but we want our tax money to be used wisely." When he realized that the millage rates are actually lower, he was apparently satisfied with the county's wisdom.

Commission Chairman Sam Moore explained that operating costs continue to rise each year and that gas and insurance in particular have recently been on the rise. In fact, he said, the county's current insurance coverage is "not as good as it has been" and the deductible is higher but it still costs more.

Other increasing costs the chairman mentioned included court expenses especially for indigent defense and the district attorney's office, and also for trash and garbage disposal.

One final hearing on the proposal remains and will be held in the commissioners' board room in the Wilkes County Courthouse today, August 3, at 1:30 p.m. Formal adoption of the millage rate will be acted on during a called meeting immediately following at 2 p.m.