CCBoC HB581 Public Hearing #3
02/04/2025
Call To Order
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call/Quorum: Commissioner Allen was late due to driving his son to Atlanta. He came in at 6:11
Approval of Agenda: Yay 5, No 0
Discussion (these are NOT transcribed):
Duncan: Start by correcting some misperceptions. This is not eliminating the Homestead Exemption. The County is deciding if they want to opt-in or opt-out of HB581. We all want low taxes. We also have to do what’s in the best long-term interest of the County.
Couch: I had a question about properties under conservation. How are those affected by HB581?
Johnson: The only properties that would have the cap are those that qualify for the Homestead Exemption so, properties under conservation would not qualify for the cap.
Couch: After the hurricane, many properties are being reassessed for depreciation because they were damaged. How does that work?
Johnson: HB581 is going to set at a base year. So, if you start out at 150K and then, because of damage it is reassessed at 100K. So, the cap would be based on 100K value. If there is a significant change then the base value is reassessed. But it could jump though, so that it was capped at 100K for one year, but then once you repair the house the base is reset to 206K.
Couch: I also want to say that there are 4 different entities that are voting on the HB 581: Cities - Harlem and Grovetown, the County, and the School Board.
Johnson: HB581 was passed last year. HR 1022 was on the ballot which enacted HB581.
Had to announce that we were intending to opt-out. That language was required by law so we could have these hearings.
The cap on the Homestead Exemption. You’ll still have your house valued at Fair Market Value but you would only be taxed at your base value at the CPI. It might not be CPI, so we can’t really say how they will calculate that rate.
This only affects properties that qualify for the Homestead exemption. Right now it’s based on the fair market value and the millage. If we opt-in, the millage rate won’t go lower, so properties no eligible for Homestead like farms, commercial and rental properties will still pay at a higher rate.
The Department of Revenue is not required to use CPI so we don’t know what they’ll use. The current Dept of Rev said they would use CPI but not sure that will stay the same.
If opt-in, can use the penny sales tax - FLOST. Everybody has to opt-in for us to be able to use this: Grovetown, Harlem… Then, in November voters would have to approve. FLOST would reduce property tax but it might not pass in November.
Melear: Can we talk a little bit about the budget process?
Johnson: We operate on a 7/1 - 6/30 Fiscal Year budget. We’re budgeting now and approaching this next budget with even more guesses. We balance the budget on an assumption of the millage rate. 42% of revenue is based on property taxes. So, if we opt-in, we can’t really plan on a FLOST until November.
Couch: Could we achieve the same thing by just lowering the millage rate?
Johnson: Sales tax credit is a significant savings for property owners This board has lowered the millage rate each year. When we lower the millage rate, that lowers it for all property owners. HB581 only applies to Homestead properties. Non-Homestead taxes will go up. Lower millage rate affects everyone. With HB581, the tax burden will shift to someone else. Hands are tied with assessments. The FMV is calculated by tax assessors. FMB based on comps in your neighborhood. You can appeal but it is based on those comps. We have to be within a percentage of those comps. An assessment notice comes out before Commissioners take action on millage. 1 cent of sales tax goes to SPLOST projects, not operations. The general fund goes to operate different things. LOST is a sales tax credit to roll back millage because of the sales tax. eSPLOST goes towards education. TSPLOST goes towards transportation. Board of Commissioners sets the M&O millage rate. School Board has a separate millage rate (side note: school board’s millage is capped at 20 mills. County has no cap).
Carraway: We kind of rushed into the TSPLOST and then the law changed. We ended up stuck in it. Can you go into details about that?
Johnson: The TSPLOST was regional first. Only 3 regions actually passed it. Columbia County voted against but it was by region and so our region voted for it. We have benefited from it. We were an early adopter. Later though, counties wanted to be able to do it individually instead of by region. Columbia County is a donor county - we collect more than what we get back from the region. We tried to get out of the region but we’re stuck in it now. We’re stuck with HB581 for 50 years if we opt-in.
Carraway: I think they’re already trying to change the legislation.
Johnson: There’s all kinds of bills floating around.
Carraway: They’re trying to slow it down because it has problems. There are a lot of ramifications.
Johnson: There are lots of unintended consequences. Only homestead properties. So, if business taxes go up, prices might also go up.
Melear: When people look at their tax bill, we don’t control all of it.
Johnson: 30% goes to the County and 70% goes to the School Board. If we opt-in and school board opts-out, your tax bill will still be affected by the school board. Then there will be different values used by different bodies. Once you sell the home, you lose the cap.
Speaker 1: He lived in CA when the property tax bill was passed in 1978. The cap max was 2% per year. He owned his home for 40 years. He bought it for 80K and was worth over 1.2million. This made it really unaffordable for future generations. 40% of residences are Homestead property and this will be a major problem for non-homestead properties. It will affect the growth of the county. Urged the county to try and communicate more with the public and to opt-out.
Speaker 2: Voted against it when it was on the ballot. 66% voted for it but weren’t sure what they were voting for. Urged Commissioners to manage the millage rate to keep the taxes low and keep control local by opting-out.
Speaker 3: Voted yes but thinks the County should opt-out. Appreciates transparency. Thinks school board should be more responsive to people when speaking. (side note: School board has rules about responding to public speakers and they aren’t allowed to interact with speakers directly.) Thinks School Board should archive meetings. Recommended researching 36 counties that cap their value. Recommended creating a Community Action Committee to seek solutions proactively.
Speaker 4: Asked about percentage of real estate values contribute? 42% of of general fund is property taxes. Asked how much sales tax would contribute - Penny tax would contribute up to $36 million per year. A lot more to HB581 then what he saw when he voted for it. What was stated on the ballot really wasn’t reflected on the ballot. He thinks the county should opt-out and keep control local.
Speaker 5: Opt-out. Locked in for 50 years. Will we lose control if we opt-in? We will lose some control over how we raise revenue. FLOST is not guaranteed.
Speaker 6: Prefer for the county to opt-out. We didn’t vote for HB581. We voted for Resolution 1022. 66% of voters voted for 1022, not HB 581. Would a sales tax pass? Maybe not. Once we opt-in, we’re stuck in it.
Speaker 7: The County has grown too big too fast. It’s starting to look like Atlanta. “Time to slow the roll.” Do we need all of these big fancy buildings…. like a 20,000ft library?
Johnson: We do have one of the largest circulations in the SE so yes, we do.
He wants to try and get the local legislation to lower the age for the school tax exclusion from 70 to 65. Mentioned the L3 Credit. Stated how much his taxes have increased since 2000.
Speaker 8: Voted no. The Resolution was worded so that 60% of people wouldn’t understand. This will have bad consequences and takes away local funding. Hope we opt-out
Speaker 9: Opt-Out. The Resolution was poorly worded. There was a difference in wording between the resolution on the ballot and the wording in the bill. Shady to pass an illegal bill, and then change the constitution to make it a legal bill. The property taxes relief would only be temporary. Complications could be stifling growth and depressing home sales. Addressed that sales tax is not a fair tax because it taxes families that make less $ a higher percentage of their income than it does families that make more $$. It isn’t fair to tax poorer families at a higher rate in order to subsidize property tax relief. Property owners do have increased wealth when their FMV increases because they have more equity that they can leverage.
Adjournment: 7:24PM