NAHUNTA — “This is going to cause a lot of confusion.”
Brantley County Tax Commissioner Pat Tompkins said there is a lot of information about House Bill 581, but “it’s a complex bill that needs to be cleaned up.”
Tompkins was speaking to city officials from Hoboken and Nahunta, Brantley County officials and to Board of Education members Thursday (December 19) afternoon in a roundtable discussion inside the Brantley County Board of Edcuation conference room about the the state’s recent homestead exemption proposal.
Shaw Blackmon (RBonaire) of Georgia District 146, chairman of the Ways and Means committee, joined the discussion to answer questions via zoom. Representative John Corbett (RLake Park) of District 174 was present. Colquitt County’s County Manager “Chas” Cannon joined via phone.
The meeting lasted just over an hour with concerned local officials seeking answers to HB 581, which passed during the 2024 legislative session and was signed by Governor Kemp.
HB 581 grants a statewide homestead exemption which limits the increases in the taxable value of homes to no more than the inflation rate that occurred over the prior year; allows local governments to elect to opt out of this homestead exemption within their jurisdiction so it will not apply to their taxable values; and authorizes most local governments with the new homestead exemption (or equivalent) to levy a new sales tax (FLOST Floating Local Option Sales Tax) to be used for property tax relief.
FLOST can be levied up to one percent and collected county-wide. Funds are split between the county and cities based upon an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) and used for property tax relief.
It is a policy decision expected to shift some of the tax burden imposed on the local government’s property owners to those who make purchases within such jurisdictions by shifting the tax burden to consumers.
The HB 581 introduces key changes that will impact local government revenue. It includes procedural modifications to property tax assessments and appeals, a new statewide homestead exemption (which local governments can opt out of), and a local option sales tax aimed at providing property tax relief.
In a nutshell, HB 581 is a statewide homestead exemption meant to limit increases in the taxable value of homes that also authorizes local governments with that exemption to levy a new floating sales tax to make up the budgeting shortfall from lost tax revenue.
The complication is Brantley County would be enrolled in HB 581’s new exemption automatically when there is already a local freeze on property taxes in place.
The primary topics of concern were which plan is better, the county’s local statute or the state, and does Brantley County need to opt out?
“From what I’ve read ours (homestead) is better than the state,” said Tompkins. “Taxpayers can choose which one is better for them for tax purposes, but the new bill does not cover what we offer. This is going to be very trying for tax payers. If someone owns their home then they qualify for exemptions. This bill is very complex.”
Brantley County School System Superintendent Dr. Kim Morgan said a “freeze” on tax assessments was better than the one set by the state.
Blackmon said Brantley County had the best of both worlds with taxpayers being able to choose what is best. He told the 25-30 gathered for the meeting between 70-80 percent of the school systems across the state were opting out from HB 581.
Asked how soon HB 581 would go into effect, and how much time Brantley County would have to opt out if that were the decision, Blackmon said, “We’ll know more in a few days and Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) will be able to answer that more intelligently.”
When asked what would happen if three of the four governing bodies in Brantley County opted out, Blackmon stated that was happening across the state.
“Everything would default to a freeze,” he said.
Corbitt told those gathered a freeze is always better, but he would check into more information to be shared.
“This coming year (2025) is not going to be a fun year,” said Tompkins.
