Taxes for Grovetown residents went up this week, but the millages for Harlem and Columbia County residents remain unchanged.

Grovetown officials voted 3-1 on Monday to raise the millage from 5.64 to 7 mills after the final of three required public hearings.

State law requires that local governments hold three public hearings if they do not intend to reduce the millage to compensate for added revenues due to growth in the tax digest.

The city's tax digest grew by more than 9 percent from $188 million in 2008 to $197 million in 2009, City Manager Shirley Beasley said.

Ms. Beasley said the added revenue will offset increased costs for maintenance and operations, and a drop in sales tax dollars. Also, the increased taxes will be used to expand public safety services, trash pickup and more.

Harlem residents won't see a millage increase, but the tax digest grew this year from $47 million to $51.5 million. The City Council approved keeping Harlem's millage at 5.35 mills, City Manager Jean Dove said.

The city will collect $23,000 more than the $252,334 collected in tax revenue for 2008, Ms. Dove said. But much of the new revenues are coming from "annexed property and new residential" construction, she said.

The added funds will be used to expand city services for those new residents, Ms. Dove said.

The tax rate to fund Columbia County's school system will remain the same after approval from the school board Tuesday. With board members Roxanne Whitaker and Mildred Blackburn absent, trustees unanimously approved maintaining a 17.09 millage for 2010.

The levy will bring $66.4 million in revenue and is based on the smallest increase in the value of the county's taxable property in more than five years.

County commissioners also voted unanimously Tuesday to keep the millage at 9.637.

Though the county's tax digest grew by 1.26 percent, there was a nearly $105 million drop in property values, negating the added revenues because of growth, county Finance Director Leanne DeLoach said. The county's nearly $57 million budget is about $400,000 less than in the previous fiscal year.

Regardless of the local mill rate or a change in property values, most homeowners can expect to see a tax increase of about $200 because of the elimination of the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant by Gov. Sonny Perdue.