If you're comparing a house inside Metter with one out in the county, the tax figure on a listing is probably a 2025 number. For Candler County, 2025 worked differently. In 2026 the City of Metter cut its rate by about a third, and the county dropped two flat charges that used to show up on fall tax bills. To cover that lost revenue, the county kept its rate at 13.294 mills instead of rolling it back to 10.543. All three changes landed in the same budget season. Together they shrink the cost difference between a Metter address and an unincorporated one, and they change which properties pay more.

What's Different on the 2026 Bill

Here are the changes, in the order a buyer would notice them on a bill:

• The two $110 flat fees are gone. In June, Candler County commissioners voted to repeal the Garbage and Solid Waste Disposal and Collection Fee Ordinance and the Emergency Medical Services Fee Ordinance. The Metter Advertiser reported that the two $110 charges "that have appeared on tax bills each fall will no longer be assessed."
• The county skipped the rollback to replace them. The Board of Commissioners kept its net rate at 13.294 mills, the same as 2025, when the rollback rate was 10.543 mills. The county's press release calls that a tax increase of 26.09% over the rollback rate and gives "the removal of certain fees" as the main reason. Commissioners voted 5–0 on Sept. 21 to set that rate.
• Metter's city rate fell from 13.402 mills to 9.004 mills, a cut of roughly 33% that city council approved unanimously, WSAV reported.
• The school levy was set to fall too. In August the Candler County Board of Education tentatively accepted a rollback from 13.987 mills to 12.363 mills, with the final vote scheduled for its Sept. 17 meeting.

One thing didn't change. Unincorporated areas still have a curbside cart charge. The county's new Waste Collection and Disposal Fees Ordinance keeps the polycart service fee on each dwelling unit and business unit in unincorporated Candler County, collected at the same time as property taxes. The commissioners set the amount each year in the budget. So the landfill and EMS fees went away, but the cart fee for rural households stayed.

A Flat Fee Became a Value-Based Tax

The county's revenue need is about the same as before. What changed is who pays it. A flat fee costs every qualifying structure the same amount, whatever the property is worth. Millage is charged on assessed value, so higher-value parcels carry more of the load and lower-value parcels carry less.

County Administrator Bryan Aasheim explained the decision when the fees were repealed, according to the Metter Advertiser:

"It will impact everyone in the county differently, and it will change the millage rate. The fee structure was applied to certain structures that used those services, and the conversion to ad valorem will make every parcel pay based on the millage rate."

The county put numbers on it. For a home with a fair market value of $225,000, it estimated the increase over rollback at about $274.59. For non-homestead property worth $175,000, the estimate was about $192.57. Set the first figure against the $220 in flat fees that no longer appear. If that $225,000 home used to pay both fees, its net change on the county portion is a little over $50. A higher-value property comes out further behind. A lower-value property that paid both fees could come out ahead.

That's why the 26.09% figure looks bigger in a headline than it is on many individual bills. A buyer looking at two homes at different price points should expect different results.

Inside Metter, Sales Tax Is Paying for the Cut

Metter could cut its rate because of a new sales tax. In November 2025, Candler County voters approved the FLOST, a 1% sales tax dedicated to property tax relief. It took the county's total sales tax from 8% to 9%, according to the Metter Advertiser's explainer. The Georgia Department of Revenue rate chart effective Jan. 1, 2026 lists Candler at 9%. County commissioners also approved an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Metter on how the money is divided.

Interim City Manager Scott Wood gave credit to the voters. He told WSAV that "the passage of that sales tax allowed us to reduce our permitted rate from about 13% down to about 9%." WSAV also reported that, under Senate Bill 33, cities could only use five months of FLOST revenue in 2026, and that Wood expects Metter to lower property taxes again in 2027 once a full year of collections comes in. The text of SB 33 sets the timing. FLOST money received before July 1 reduces that year's property taxes, and money received on or after July 1 reduces the next year's.

The Metter Advertiser reported the city's cut at about $360,000 less in taxes collected. The county and the school system tax everyone in Candler County, and a city adds its own levy on top for property inside its limits. The city rate is the main thing that separates a Metter address from a rural one on a tax bill, and that's the rate that just fell by a third.

The Digest Grew Much Faster Than the Tax Base

The county's published five-year digest history shows the size of the 2026 reassessment. Real and personal property rose from $418,934,872 in 2025 to $606,895,734 in 2026, an increase of nearly 45%. Exemptions grew from $59,807,797 to $182,810,085 over the same period. After exemptions, the net digest grew from $372,037,833 to $434,728,744, or 16.85%. County M&O taxes levied went from $4,945,871 to $5,779,284.

Neither Candler County nor Metter opted out of Georgia's floating homestead exemption under HB 581. Metter's council reached a consensus not to opt out in January 2025, and the January 13, 2025 council minutes note that taking no action left the exemption in effect. The Metter Advertiser described the exemption as freezing the market value of homestead properties in any jurisdiction that hasn't opted out. Aasheim called the overall effect "a transfer of tax liability from homeowners to property owners," with FLOST letting people who don't live in the community share the load through sales tax.

The digest notice doesn't break down the exemption growth by type. Still, the published figures show most of the reassessment never reached the taxable base. That matters to a buyer because a home's tax bill depends on its own exemption status and assessed value, not only on the rate. The previous owner's bill can be a poor guide for a buyer whose situation is different.

A Thin Market Gives Little Price Signal

In a county this size, sale prices don't say much. Georgia MLS's monthly snapshot recorded one residential sale in Candler County in September 2026, at $250,000. August 2026 had six sales with a $232,000 median. Active listings went from 23 in August to 27 in September. One sale can't set a trend, and six barely can.

Tax rates are different. They're published, adopted on the record, and apply to every parcel. With prices this unsettled, the yearly cost of owning a home is one of the few numbers a buyer can pin down before closing. In 2026, the city rate cut moved that number in Metter's favor.

Questions Buyers Are Asking

Does a Metter address now cost less in property tax than a rural one?

Not necessarily. The city levy still applies only inside city limits. It dropped from 13.402 to 9.004 mills, so it adds a lot less than it did in 2025. Rural properties no longer pay the flat landfill and EMS fees but still have the polycart fee. Which address costs less depends on the value of each property and its exemptions.

Will Metter's rate drop again?

WSAV reported that Wood expects further reductions in 2027 once a full year of FLOST collections comes in. Council hasn't adopted a 2027 rate, so treat that as an expectation.

Is the 2025 tax bill on a listing still useful?

Yes, as history, but 2025 bills included the two $110 fees, the old city rate, and the old school rate, and none of those carry over unchanged to 2026.

This post is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Confirm how these rates and exemptions apply to a specific property with the Candler County Tax Commissioner or a qualified tax professional.

If you're weighing a Metter home against one out in the county, our team at Cumberland Nine Realty can put the 2026 rate changes beside the actual properties you're comparing, so your budget reflects this year's bill. If you own in Candler County and want to know where your home stands, start with Get Your Instant Home Valuation.