Fannin County Advertises Full-Rollback Tax Rate of 2.401 Mills, Hearing Set for Aug. 25

Fannin County commissioners voted at a special called meeting Aug. 5 to advertise a proposed 2026 general maintenance and operations millage rate of 2.401 mills, and set the public hearing on that rate for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25, at the Fannin County Courthouse in Blue Ridge. That number, paired with whatever the school board adopts, is what determines the county property tax bill landing in Blue Ridge and McCaysville mailboxes next month.

The rate is a full rollback. The presiding commissioner told the board the proposed 2.401 does not exceed the rollback rate and described the effect on taxpayers as no increase. Last year's county levy was 2.44 mills, so the advertised figure is 0.039 mills lower.

The resolution directs the county clerk to publish the statutory notice required by O.C.G.A. 48-5-32 in a newspaper of general circulation at least two weeks before the rate is adopted. Meeting notices list the hearing in the courthouse jury assembly room at 400 West Main Street. The special called meeting was convened for that single item, and no one spoke during public comment before the vote.

What "rollback" actually means

Under Georgia's property tax law, when reassessments push the tax digest up, a county has to calculate the rate that would bring in roughly the same money as the year before, stripping out the growth from higher valuations. Adopt anything above that number and the county has to advertise a tax increase and hold three separate hearings. Stay at or below it, and one hearing on the digest and levy is what the law requires.

Here is the part homeowners sometimes learn the hard way: a full rollback does not guarantee your own bill goes down. If your assessed value rose more than the county average, you can still owe more than last year at a lower rate. The rate is countywide. The value is parcel by parcel.

The school side is the bigger number

Fannin County Schools levies well more than twice what the county does. The Board of Education discussed its 2026 tentative millage at its July 30 meeting, with the rollback rate calculated at 6.517 mills, advertised the rate Aug. 5, and took it up at its regular meeting Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Staff Development Center, 6145 Old Hwy. 76 in Blue Ridge.

Levy	2025	2026 proposed
County M&O	2.44	2.401
Board of Education	6.633	6.517
Combined	9.073	8.918

Both bodies took the full rollback last year too, when commissioners formally adopted the 9.073 combined rate on Aug. 28.

Doing the math on your own bill

Georgia assesses property at 40 percent of fair market value. So a house appraised at $300,000 carries an assessed value of $120,000 before any exemptions, and each mill costs $1 per $1,000 of that assessed value.

Run the combined numbers and a $300,000 home with no exemptions would owe about $1,088.76 at last year's 9.073 mills and about $1,070.16 at 8.918. A difference of roughly $18.60, again before homestead or other exemptions and before any change in the property's own assessed value.

Dates worth writing down

Tax bills go out in mid-September, according to the Fannin County Tax Commissioner's office, and payment is due Dec. 20. Assessment notices, the ones that set the value side of the equation, went out back in May, and the 45-day window to appeal a value has already closed for this cycle.

The Aug. 25 hearing is the point at which residents can speak on the rate before commissioners adopt it. The county has not announced the date of the adoption vote itself; last year's came three days after the final hearing. Agendas and meeting materials are posted on the Board of Commissioners page.

For more on how county decisions hit your household budget, keep up with us at Blue Ridge Georgia Community Website and browse our other government and politics stories. Going to the hearing, or already opened your assessment notice? Join the conversation in our Community Forum and tell us what you're seeing.

Header photo: KudzuVine / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)