A 4 percent tax rate with exonerations was proposed at the Anderson County Board of Education’s special-called meeting Aug. 4. The proposed rate will be voted on at an upcoming special-called board meeting.
Finance Officer Josh White reviewed the tax rates for consideration. The board is following a new state law requiring the proposed tax rate to be presented to the public before a final tax rate can be approved at a separate meeting.
The Anderson County Board of Education is proposing a general fund tax levy of 59.6 cents on real property and 59.6 cents on personal property, including 0.1 cents for exonerations.
The General Fund tax levied in fiscal year 2026 was 60.3 cents on real property and 60.3 cents on personal property and produced revenue of $14,756,725.75.
The proposed General Fund tax rate of 59.6 cents on real property and 59.6 cents on personal property is expected to produce $15,726,397. Of this amount, $3,488,990 is from new and personal property.
The proposed rate is expected to generate more revenue than received in the preceding year. The general areas to which the additional $969,671 in revenue over 2026 revenue is to be allocated are as follows: cost of collections, $29,090; building fund, $54,302; instruction, $659,376; transportation, $58,180; and maintenance of plant, $168,723.
White explained the differences between the compensating rate, the proposed 4 percent rate, and maintaining the current rate.
The compensating rate with exonerations would be 57.4 cents per $100 of value and would be expected to produce about $15,145,000
A 4 percent rate with exonerations would be 59.6 cents per $100 of value and would generate about $15,726,000.
“For fiscal year ‘27, the difference between those two values for Anderson County is about $580,000,” explained White.
He further stated that the compensating rate generates the same level of revenue as the prior year excluding new property, and the 4% tax rate generates a 4% increase in revenue above what was collected in the prior year.
If the rate remained the same, it would be 60.3 cents per $100 value, which would be above the proposed 4 percent rate.
Any rate proposed above 4% is recallable. This would require not only the proposed tax rate to be presented to the public before a final tax rate can be approved but also a public hearing and additional advertising.
To compare the proposed rate with the 2025-2026 rate, if your home was assessed at $100,000 value last year, you would have paid $603. This year, with the proposed 4% rate, that number would be $596. With the compensating rate, that number would be $574.
In 2019-2020, that number would have been $657 as that year had the highest rate in the past decade.
White stated that if your home value has increased since last year, there is still a possibility for an increased tax bill despite the drop in school tax rate percentage. If your home value did not change or was not reassessed this year, your tax bill could be potentially lower than last year.
Comparing Anderson County school tax rates to surrounding counties, White said, “We are the third lowest in 2025-2026. We were the second lowest in the previous 2 years to that of the surrounding counties around us.”
A motion to set the proposed rate at 4 percent was passed with one dissenting vote from James Sargent.
“I think Mr. White has done a great job with this presentation, but I don’t think we’ve educated the public,” said Sargent. “…First thing they’re going to read when they get the paper is a 4 percent increase.”
He further explained that without educating the public, they aren’t going to know that the percentage is actually dropping or the various places tax money gets used such as aging buildings and roofs that need replacing. He also stated that many people will still see an increase in their tax bill because of increased property values, and they’re not going to understand what has caused the increase.
“I want the general public to be aware,” said Sargent.
Finally, White concluded that this was just a proposal and that they will reconvene for a final vote in 2 weeks depending on publication date.
