The 'county millage rate' would rise by 95 percent, jumping from 9.76 to 19.06, according to a plan laid out by Interim County Manager Paul Van Haute.
This would equal an additional $372 in property taxes for every $100,000 worth of property value, as assigned by the Baldwin County Tax Assessor's Office.
Baldwin County's five county commissioners are the ones who ultimately would approve the increase, and right now there doesn't appear to be much of an appetite for that.
In an interview with The Baldwin Bulletin, Commissioner Sammy Hall said that he would not support the 9.3 mill increase.
'I'm not voting for it, and I don't think anybody else will either,' said Hall, with 'anybody else' referring to the other four commissioners.
Hall, however, added that 'there's going to have to be a tax increase.'
'Between a smaller increase and a reduction in spending, I think we can get to where we need to be,' he said.
A $15 million loan payment owed to Century Bank & Trust currently is staring the county government directly in the face. The payment is due by Dec. 31. The county commission earlier this year voted to take out a series of tax anticipation notes (TANS). A TAN essentially is a line of credit. Century Bank was the issuer of the loan. The county ultimately could've borrow up to $15 million, and in the end it ended up borrowing the entire $15 million.
During the most recent county commission meeting, Van Haute said that the 9.3 mill increase is 'the only way I can guarantee there will be 15 million dollars in the bank by December 31st to pay those notes.'
However, Van Haute suggested that a portion of the property tax increase eventually be 'rebated' to customers after the county's financial situation improves.
An audible gasp could be heard in the crowd at last week's county commission meeting when Van Haute suggested the rate increase. That meeting has now been viewed more than 28,000 times on the Baldwin County County Board of Commissioners Facebook page. A post made about the topic on The Baldwin Bulletin's Facebook page has surpassed 58,000 views. In other words, the issue clearly has the public's attention.
The next county commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15. The agenda has not been posted yet.