Citizens Speak At Third County Millage Hearing, Board Approves Millage Rate
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
The Dade County Board of Commissioners held the third public hearing for the FY25 millage rate at 4 p.m. on Aug. 22, followed by a vote at 4:30. The woman who came to the second public hearing returned with further questions, and several other citizens brought up concerns.
Phillip Hartline (District Two commissioner) was not present, but he called the Sentinel afterward to apologize to the people of Dade County. He explained that he thought the millage rate hearing began at 6 p.m. and had planned to be present, and he would have voted “no” on the county millage rate.
After the public hearing, all commissioners present voted yes on the FY25 millage rate of 7.750 in the unincorporated area and 9.963 in the incorporated area. All commissioners present also voted yes for the county tax office to collect school taxes on behalf of the Dade County Board of Education.
During the hearing, the woman (no name was given) asked who appoints the tax assessors. The commissioners explained that they appoint members to the Board of Tax Assessors and Paula Duvall (chief tax assessor) hires the field agents.
The woman asked about these employees’ credentials, and Duvall explained that the lead field appraiser is certified through the Georgia Department of Revenue while the field assistant is not required to be certified. “All the other staff inside our office are certified through the Department of Revenue.”
The woman asked about the third-party contractors who work with the tax office. Duvall explained that the third-party group doesn’t do field work.
The woman said, “The people who are going out and assessing our property, would it not be in their best interest to assess it as much as they possibly can so that the property valuation goes up which inevitably allows for the tax to go up?”
Duvall explained that field agents don’t make valuation judgements; they simply take notes on and photos of the property. Value is set by Duvall, the third-party contractor, and the Board of Tax Assessors. She said, “What we’re required to maintain is a fair market value…It’s simply staying in line with what the actual market is doing in Dade County. So far, over the last three or four years, we’ve continued to see sale prices increase.”
The woman then presented some numbers. She said that the county’s budget was $633,847,000. (This number is actually the total tax digest, which is over 41 times larger than the FY25 budget of $15,322,000.)
Shortly later, she divided the total tax digest by 16,000 citizens, saying that if the budget (i.e. tax digest) was divided equally, “each individual would receive $39,615.44.” However, if you divide the actual budget ($15,322,000) by 16,251 (per the 2020 US census), this number is $942.83.
She said the average annual income for an individual in Dade County is $26,057. This number (which is listed on the Dade County website) seems to be from the 2010 census. The 2020 census reports an average household income of $59,531 (per the US Census Bureau) while the per capita income is $30,078 (per Census Reporter).
She then mentioned the county executive salary. Ted Rumley (county executive) currently earns $105,208 (per the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ 2023 Wage and Salary Report). This is 3.5 times the per capita income. She said, “This raises questions about fairness and equity, especially when considering the financial hardships many in our community face.”
She cited a road in Cole City that has been in disrepair, saying, “An elderly citizen in Cole City had to take it upon himself to buy materials to patch and repair a road because the county failed to do so, even after this gentlemen’s multiple requests and a petition to the county that all of the community members signed and presented.”
Rumley asked which road this was, and she answered Old Stage Road. She continued, “To make matters worse, instead of maintaining this portion of the county road, the county chose to pave and maintain a section that isn’t even on the Georgia Department of Transportation map; it’s a private easement.” She did not say which road this was.
She then explained that she once called 911 to file a police report when her neighbor’s mules had gotten loose and damaged her property. “When a deputy finally called me back, he made light of the situation and offered no help, repeatedly telling me to stop telling him how to do his job. When I tried to explain the seriousness of the situation, he hung up on me. I called 911 back only to be told by the operator that they weren’t sending anyone, and then she hung up as well.”
While law enforcement should always act professionally rather than making light of a 911 call or police report, per the county ordinances, there is nothing the Dade County Sheriff’s Office can do about loose mules. The county ordinances only cover dangerous dogs and rabid animals.
She continued, “Another time, the same neighbor trespassed on a property and started cutting down vegetation. When called to report, the officer refused to come out again, claiming it was a civil issue.” Without knowing all the details, this does, indeed, seem to be a civil issue. Depending on what steps are taken and how the situation develops, it could become a criminal case should criminal trespassing or harassment occur.
The woman feels that county taxes are not being used properly to handle these cases.
Melissa Faircloth then asked if last year’s tax credit was returning. The commissioners explained that this was a one-time credit from Governor Brian Kemp and is not returning this year. Duvall said they have received calls about property tax bills being $300-$400 higher than last year’s. “That’s what you’re seeing. You got about $300 or $400 savings last year because of that tax credit. Your tax bills this year, they are more, but it’s simply because of that tax credit that we did not get this year.”
Throughout the meeting, Rumley and the commissioners explained that their salaries are set by state guidelines. Pages seven through ten of the “2025 County Salary Guide (ACCG)” detail the long and complicated process for calculating these salaries.
Evan Stone said that the county executive is required to be paid $500 more than the highest constitutional officer, which according to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ 2023 Wage and Salary Report, is the Superior Court Clerk at $84,078. This simple calculation is not listed in the ACCG guide. If it is correct, Rumley is being overpaid by $20,630.
The Sentinel plans to investigate the matter further and report on how these salaries are calculated and what they should be.
Rumley briefly addressed the salary question, noting that he gives much of his salary back to people who he sees in need and gives directly to them. The woman responded, “I wasn’t necessarily pointing out your salary to say that you make too much money. I’m saying that citizens of this town make too less of money.”
John Huffman also spoke regarding the county executive salary, explaining that he believes it was wrongly set according to the old sole commissioner form of government and also noting discrepancies when compared to other Georgia counties by population. He said, “Your salary in our population group is higher than all the other counties with our population. Not only that, it’s higher than higher populations.”
Indeed, as an example, Gwinnett County’s county executive earned $89,720.95 in 2023 with a $1,200 supplement while the county’s population is over 975,000 (roughly 60 times the size of Dade’s population).
Melissa Bradford (District Four commissioner) then asked the woman if she felt dismissed at the second public hearing. The woman replied, “I did not feel like I was mocked. I did feel like I was not acknowledged.”
Bradford said, “I’m very sorry, because that is not the feeling I would like for you to have, because I acknowledge you completely. I share your concerns very much.”
Another woman spoke, explaining that she is new to the area and has studied rural poverty. Much of the conversation centered around poverty in general and what the government (local and state) is doing to help those in need. The woman’s main plea was, “These commissions need to be going back to the state, saying, ‘This ain’t working,’ and it needs to be voiced from you. They don’t listen to us.”
Rumley and Bradford cited our state representatives. Bradford said, “Please give them a call. That would be great. I know that I do. We’re constantly battling that as a commission.”
The woman said she was unaware of a food bank in the county, and the commissioners cited some of the food programs. There are many, including: Tri-State Food Pantry, Dade County Senior Center meals, free and reduced meals through Dade County Schools and the summer meal program, North Georgia Worship Center Free Food Fridays, community-run Blessing Boxes, Helping Hands Ending Hunger, Servant’s Heart Ministry, and church benevolence initiatives.
