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Board of Pub. Educ. for the City of Savannah and County of Chatham v. Hair

A county ordinance that raised the county's commission for collecting school taxes to 2.5 percent and which resulted in over-reimbursement to the county does not violate O.C.G.A. § 48-5-404 a, since the plain language of that statute does not restrict any individual entity's commission to costs actually incurred in collecting school taxes.

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The Board of Public Education for the City of Savannah and the County of Chatham the “Board” sued the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and Tax Commissioner collectively the “County”, challenging as unconstitutional a county ordinance and state statute under which the County receives a 2.5 commission for collecting the school taxes. The trial court upheld the ordinance and statute. Because the Georgia Constitution and state statutes allow the entity that collects school taxes to receive up to a 2.5 commission for its collection services and the Board’s remaining enumerations are without merit, we affirm. In Chatham County, the tax commissioner collects the school taxes, in addition to taxes for the county and some nearby municipalities. Under a local ordinance, the commissioner is required to remit all school taxes that he collects to the Board, except for a certain percentage that he withholds and pays to the County.

In 2001, the County required the tax commissioner to pay to the County 1.51 of the school taxes collected, which resulted in the Board’s paying roughly 75 of the County’s cost to collect the school taxes as well as the county and city taxes. In 2002, the County raised its charge to 2.5. Under the new rate, the Board pays approximately 111 of the County’s cost to collect all the taxes.

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