About The wiregrass farmer. (Ashburn, Ga.) 1984-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2023)
Set clocks back 1 hour Saturday >/ About that low tax bill Get the details in this week’s paper FAijMm Wednesday, November 1,2023 ASHBURN,GA, 31714 VOL 109 - No. 44 • 750 www.thewiregrassfarmer.com ^Around Town' Subscribe to The Wiregrass Farmer Delivered in your mail every week Call 567-3655 Teddy bears The Kiwanis Club is col lecting teddy bears for public safety to give to children. The bears are to help frightened kids. New bears may be dropped off at The Wiregrass. Food bank The Shepherd’s Pantry food bank at the old elemen tary school will hold a food distribution Thursday around 10:30 a.m. Emergency food assistance is available any time. Please contact Diane Saylor or Ben Baker if needed. Stray dogs Ashburn residents are re minded that pets must have a collar and current rabies tag. Animals without tags will be collected by Animal Control. A copy of the City's animal ordinance is available at City Hall and the Police Depart ment. Animal control number is 567-0313. Separate debris HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1902 GROUNDBREAKING A ceremonial groundbreaking was held for the new middle-high school complex last week. Board of Edu cation members, student council presidents and rep resentatives from the construction and engineering firm participated. MiDOtf i h»Oh SCHOOL r ^ ^ -iW * mi 2 - pt > £ ^ J | t j^A m m Y ^ Student speeches, Page 2 A ceremonial ground breaking for the $37.8 million new middle-high school complex was held last week on ground that will host the administration offices for the new school. The Board of Education is sued bonds for the construc tion. The bond issue calls on voters to approve several more rounds of Education Sales Tax referenda to repay the money. If voters do not approve the sales tax, property taxes will go to repay the money bor rowed under the bond issue. The County Commission, which approves the School Board millage, had to vote to agree to approve a bond-repay ing millage rate if needed. School Board Chair Sandra Blue welcomed the crowd. “Thank you for coming today and sharing this wonderful moment with us,” she said. “It’s going to be nice and worth it.” She thanked those who made the school possible, es pecially the votes who ap proved the sales tax referendum. School Superintendent Craig Matthews reminded the crowd voters need to continue approving the next few rounds of the sales tax to keep paying off the construction bonds. (See SCHOOL Page 8) Construction forces Ashburn precinct move If you pile leaves and limbs at curbside, please sep arate limbs from the leaves and pine straw. The City's street vac can pick up the leaves and straw. The boom truck can pick up limbs. When you separate the leaves and limbs, pick up goes faster and takes fewer employees. Siren Test The Turner County weather warning siren is tested the first Wednesday of the month, good weather per mitting, at noon. If weather is bad, the system will be tested at noon on the next clear day. County website The closed parking lot at the Civic Center and construction for the new middle high school have created a voting issue. Elections Superintendent Jan Winter is moving the Ash burn voting precinct for the 2024 elections to the Ag Build ing out by the airport. The County Commission also meets in that building. The Ag Building is just past the Ashburn City Limits. The precinct does not have to be in side the Ashburn City Limits. Sycamore's Council elections are done at the Bubba Akin building north of town on Highway 41. MOVE Whether the Ashburn City Council election gets moved to the Ag Building remains to be seen. "I can move federal, state and county elections. For me to move the City of Ashburn, the Jan Winter Council has to agree," she said. If the Council does not agree to the move, Ms. Winter said her office will not conduct the City Council election. THEY CAN DO IT "They can do it (run the election). They can print paper ballots. They can print absen tee ballots and mail those out. They can count the paper bal lots election night," she said. The last paper ballot elec tion held at City Hall was years ago. The Council since contracted with the Board of Elections to run the municipal election. 2 LOCATIONS If the Council does not agree to the move, that means Ashburn voters will have to go to 2 locations to vote. • One place the City Coun cil election • A second place for County, State and National elections Ms. Winter has applied to be on the Ashburn City Coun- (See VOTE Page 8) Taxpayers get a welcome surprise in their property tax bill The County Commission has a website, www.tumer- countygeorgia.com . Com mission meeting minutes and other items about Turner County are posted on the website. Obituaries Gerald Ray Belflower, 71, Salem, SC Complete obituary information Page 5 Tax Break FAQs, Page 8 Tax bill breakdown, Page 8 Tis the season for prop erty tax notices. Some Georgia residents are getting a pleasant surprise in their tax notice. They are get ting a break on property taxes. Some Georgia residents may see their home taxes for the year come to zero. Liter ally. The State of Georgia has a budget surplus. So, the General Assembly approved an idea from Gov. Brian Kemp to give homeowners a one time break on their taxes. It only applies to homeowners with a homestead exemption. See the FAQ section for an swers to questions and more explanation of things discussed in this article. HOW IT WORKS The tax break is actually a further reduction to the taxable value of a home and the land the home sits on. You will not get a check or any money from this. The tax collecting agen cies in your county, which in clude the County Commission, Cities, Special Districts and School Board will get the money. In Georgia, the Tax Asses sor sets the value of property. This is based on a fair market value. You pay taxes on 40% of that value. How much you pay in taxes is based on the mil rate for your community. Mil rates vary by county, by School Board and by special tax districts. Cities also levy property taxes. Homeowners who have a homestead exemption get a further break on that taxable value. The standard home stead exemption in Georgia is $2,000. Other exemptions are offered. Talk to the tax office at the Courthouse to see what other breaks you may qualify for. The 2023 tax break reduces the taxed value of your home by another $18,000. That tax break applies across the board. Turner County’s combined School Board and County tax rate is 31.957 mills. Sycamore’s millage is 9.000. Ashburn‘s millage is 10.9460. Rebecca’s mil rate is 7.945. THE BREAK The Department of Revenue (See TAX Page 8) Wed Sunny Thur Mostly Sunny Fri Mostly Sunny Sat Mostly Sunny 8 66670 00023 750 - tax included Q 74 53 Sun Partly Cloudy This space available. Your ad runs 4 or more weeks. Get your business noticed! Call 567-3655 A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess. A. Philip Randolph No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent. John Donne
