DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County Commissioners have two important issues to decide during Thursday’s Board of Commissioners meeting:  The millage rate and impact fees.

The millage rate is set for the third of three required public hearings. Commissioners could vote to keep the current millage rate 8.138, apply the rollback rate of 7.393 mills or increase the rate.

The most likely course of action is to keep the millage rate at 8.138, where it has been the last 10 years. That would allow the county to raise an additional $1.3 million in revenue above last year. Setting the rollback rate would mean the county would generate the same amount of revenue as last year. One mill equals about $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value.

District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines said Wednesday, “My first goal as a conservative is always going to be to find a way to save on taxes and roll back as much as possible. I know we won’t be able to roll back much because the county does have some tremendous needs.”

Gaines mentioned the need to replace aging equipment rather than paying for costly repairs again and again as one need.

“I’ve gone through budgets many times before both here and during my time on city council,” he said. “But this year I’ve spent more time than ever before trying to make sure I’m looking at every single dollar of efficiency.”

During previous public hearings, only one citizen spoke out against keeping the millage rate at 8.138.

Last Thursday, Mike Wenson told commissioners, “My taxes are going through the roof. I know as government employees you can turn around and raise taxes and not take into consideration the problems that people have paying them.” He also said his taxes had gone up more than 100 percent in three years.

Commissioners also will hold a second final public hearing on impact fees Thursday.

Commissioners approved impact fees in 2006, but suspended them during the recession of 2009 when new development was practically non-existent. The fees are imposed on new development projects to pay for all — or a portion of the costs — of providing public services to those developments.

Bill Ross whose company, Ross and Associates, has been working on an impact fee program for the county outlined that program during the Aug. 9 commission meeting.

He pointed out that the county’s population is expected to double in the next two decades and that there will be 2,700 more housing units by then. “By 2040, almost half the traffic on your roads will be generated by new development that has moved into the county,” he said.

The program looked specifically at the impact growth will have on library services, parks and recreation, fire protection, law enforcement and road improvement.

By 2040, it is projected that the county will require one new library and twice the volume of books, computers and DVDs. Four new fire stations will need to be built and 16 firetrucks purchased. The county, Ross said, will need 137 additional acres for recreational facilities.

The maximum fees the county could impose on various types of development include $3,400 for a single-family home, $1.64 per square foot for a shopping center and $1.88 for a super market.

Commission meetings are held in the second floor assembly room of the Dawson County Government Center, located at 25 Justice Way in downtown Dawsonville.

 

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