HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — The Henry County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday to discuss the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 millage rates, proposing an unchanged rate of 15.733 mills for the general fund and special service district.
A county commissioner also addressed public concerns about increasing fair market values for their property, which means people end up paying more in taxes despite the millage rate holding steady.
The meeting, which was the first of three public hearings, focused on maintaining the current millage rate to support a budget of $287,797,000, an increase from the previous fiscal year’s budget of of $259,700,000.
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Budget Director Bernita Campbell said the FY2026 budget would allocate funds towards county services, road improvements, expanding judicial services and public safety enhancements.
Henry County Tax Commissioner Michael Harris said the calculation of the millage rate and discussed the homestead exemption, which freezes the county government’s portion of the property tax bill for homeowners.
Henry County is one of about 30 counties in Georgia that has implemented a frozen homestead exemption, freezing the county government’s portion of the property tax bill for homeowners. It automatically renews from year-to-year as long as the resident continues to occupy the home as a primary residence.
Residents who get a homestead exemption are generally expected to not see a boost in the county government portion of their property taxes. The frozen exemption does not apply to school district nor city property taxes.
“The exemption has to increase in order to keep the taxable value the same so that’s how it’s offset,” said Harris. “Well, [when] people often ask that, [they] don’t see the frozen exemption included, we always direct them to go back and look at their exemptions. Anything beyond your basic exemptions represents the additional frozen amount that’s been included on your tax bill to help offset that increase in valuation.”
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Harris noted that citizens might see a slight decrease in the millage rate for School Maintenance and Operations, from 20 mills to 19.8 mills, pending approval by the Board of Education.
District IV Commissioner Michael Price and Tax Assessor John Selfe emphasized the importance of accurate property assessments, with Price acknowledging community concerns about property value increases.
“When it comes to taxes [the community] wants the value low, but when it comes to selling, they want the value high and I know that sometimes there are complaints that the value is increasing,” Price said. “I want the people to understand that [the Tax Assessor’s Office] is regulated as well to make sure that [they] are abiding by the expectations and requirements from the Department of Revenue.”
A second public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 9 a.m., with the final hearing and millage rate adoption set for the same day at the 6:30 p.m. regular Board of Commissioners meeting.
All meetings are at the Henry County Administration Building, 140 Henry Parkway, McDonough.
See more about exemptions from the county website and at the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Learn more about property valuation from the Department of Revenue.
Watch the entire meeting here.
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