Property tax increase hearings set for today
By KIP BURKE news editor

The Wilkes County Board of Education will be holding public hearings today and next Thursday to hear public comments on the board's proposed property tax increase.

The hearings, set for today, October 25, at 2 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m., and next Thursday, November 1, at 9 a.m. at the Board of Education officeat 313-A North Alexander Avenue in Washington, are required by law to hear public comment whenever a tax increase is proposed.

Superintendent Joyce Williams said that she expects quite a bit of interest in the property tax increase, coming as it does while the school system has another tax, the SPLOST sales tax, on the ballot for renewal.

"I anticipate that there will be some confusion during the hearing, but we'll address the SPLOST and the property tax increase separately," she said.

The SPLOST, a special-purpose local-option sales tax, has been in place since 2003 and is coming up for renewal this year. The SPLOST is a one-cent tax on every retail dollar spent in Wilkes County, and over the next 20 years it will pay for the new middle-school and high school complex being built on the Tignall Highway.

The property tax, on the other hand, annually pays the costs to run all the schools, from salaries and benefits,supplies, fuel, utilities, equipment, "and everything else," except construction, Williams said.

The state of Georgia's recent 3 percent raise for teachers and administrators, along with increased fuel and other expenses, has brought a $1.3 million shortfall in revenue that must be made up by a property tax increase.

To lessen the shortfall, Williams said, the system has already made cuts in staff. "When Governor Perdue announced the 3 percent raise, we knew we'd have to cut positions, and we did," she said. "We cut a band director, an elementary school PE teacher, and one science teacher, in anticipation of this money crunch coming."

Williams says she expects some public opposition to the tax increase. "Tax increases aren't popular, but sometimes it's necessary to keep schools strong," she said. "We just want to be up-front about why it's necessary."

The school system's top obligation, she said, is to make Wilkes County schools strong and viable, "but we're always aware that we're spending taxpayers' money."

Williams says she hopes the property tax increase doesn't hurt the vote for the SPLOST. "The SPLOST is the fairest tax of all," she said. "Everybody pays their fair share, and since it's paid on every dollar spent here, tourists and visitors pay a good part of the revenues."

Annual income from SPLOST has risen from $750,000 to over $1,000,000 in just three years, but the SPLOST has to be collected for many years more to pay for the $22 million school complex. "When taxpayers voted in 2003, they committed themselves to keep it in place to pay for the new school," Williams said. "If the SPLOST doesn't pass, the property taxes would have to be raised to cover it."

The public is invited to all three hearings. Directly after the hearing next Thursday, the school board will vote on the proposed tax increase.

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