HB 581 leaves more questions than answers
City, county officials meet to discuss plan
HB 581 was approved by local and statewide voters in November, but the bigger question is what exactly does it do and what does it mean for local taxpayers.
Approximately 20 members of Pierce’s county and city governments as well as the Board of Education (BOE) had gathered recently to discuss Georgia House Bill 581, the state’s recent homestead exemption proposal, in an open forum. As might be expected of Pierce Countians, those gathered had a lot to say. The hourlong meeting Friday morning was followed by a teleconference of similar length with state lawmakers Representatives Steven Meeks (R-Screven) and Shaw Blackmon (R- Bonaire).
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 Pierce County would be enrolled in HB 581’s new exemption automatically— when there is already a local freeze on property taxes in place. In other words, the horse might still be loose in other parts of the state, but Pierce County already shut the barn door.
“Was this written more with Atlanta in mind?” and similar statements were heard more than once in the BOE conference room prior to the video conference.
The primary topics of concern were which plan is better, the county’s or the state, does Pierce need to opt out and if the county doesn’t, will having both laws on the books cause needless confusion or complications?
“My only thought is, when it talks about ‘floating’, that means it changes every year and many of our taxpayers are senior citizens on fixed incomes,” said District 4 commissioner David Lowman. “There are a lot of variables and right now, with our system there are no variables.”
“One word that keeps getting thrown out is ‘locked in’. There is no such thing,” Blackshear mayor Keith Brooks said about HB 581. “If there is a reevaluation, the rate will go up.”
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright wanted to know how many of the unanswered questions about the bill would be cleaned up in the next legislative session before HB 581 goes into effect. “If we have a base value home exemption then we don’t really need it,” Wright said.
“I bet you 80% of the people that voted yes on this didn’t read the whole thing,” said District 3 commissioner Randy Dixon.
County Manager Raphel Maddox said, “If you write a state bill and give us an option to opt out, that means you know we already have a good plan in place.”
BOE Superintendent Dara Bennett was concerned with the messaging surrounding HB 581. “When people hear exemption, it might come across to citizens it’s not a good idea to opt out of it.”
BOE Finance Director Melanie Helms agreed with Bennett, saying, “It is presented in such a way to make it seem as if we’re opting out of the good one.”
Some, like Patterson Mayor Dedi Thomas, wanted to know when the final decision would be made. “Are we to make a decision here today or are we just having a conversation? I vote against it, because I saw no benefit in it as a taxpayer. As far as I’m concerned, I’m against the durn thing!”
Most agreed that many of the questions about HB 581 and its local impact should be referred to State House Representative Steven Meeks (R-Screven), who represents Pierce County as part of Georgia District 178. Superintendent Bennett said, “I asked him, you voted for this, is this good for Pierce County? He said, I don’t know, but I’ll find someone who does.”
When the teleconference was initiated shortly thereafter, Meeks listened in, but largely turned the floor over to fellow representative Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) of Georgia District 146, chairman of the Ways and Means committee. “Property tax is certainly very complicated, but I will try my best to answer every question you throw at me,” said Blackmon.
A string of questions followed from Superintendent Bennett, County Manager Maddox, tax assessor Christian Walker, Thomas Sowell, Commissioner Lowman, and others. Topics ranged from the precise wording of what is considered a homestead and when the proposed bill will be cleaned up and further explained to how many other counties were opting out, the pressure felt by officials to make a choice in a timely manner and if it was possible to opt out later if Pierce chose to stay opted in.
Walker pointed out HB 581 was currently not clear about if their is a limit on residential improvements, the land, pools and so on. Blackmon said some clean up language was being proposed or that the Department of Revenue might be able to do the necessary clarifications with rules and regulations.
Asked how soon HB 581 would go into effect, and how much time Pierce 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.”
Another question from Maddox dealt with how multi-generational homes and properties might be dealt with in South Georgia, explaining that homesteads were usually defined as 1 utility meter or 1 address, but the local area had lots of mother-in-law cottages, man caves, shops and so forth.
“That’s a little above my pay grade,” said Blackmon. “I’m not sure if I understand the question entirely.”
Ultimately, the big takeaway was that Pierce’s local freeze on tax assessments was better than the one set by the state, which was at a higher rate. While Pierce was automatically enrolled in the HB 581 exemption along with every other county in GA, there would be time to opt out and even if they left HB 581 on the books beside the local statute, a local delegation from the county could opt out at a later date. As for the unclear wording of some portions of HB 581, further clarification is coming.
In the words of Commissioner Lowman, “I feel better about staying in than I did when I walked in.
Others sounded some gentle warning bells. Tax assessor Walker said, “With the exemptions you are now putting more tax burden onto local businesses, rental property owners, et cetera.” County chairman Neal Bennett also said, “The more that qualify for it and get on it, you know what that does to your budget.”
The final, greatest priority, all agreed was the need to encourage the 500 or so owners in the county that don’t have homestead exemptions at the currently frozen rate to sign up for it as soon as possible. County Manager Maddox took to social media not long after with a post encouraging taxpayers to check their exemption status if they were not sure of it.
Toward the end, Blackmon commended those gathered for representing their constituents well and even earned a round of indulgent chuckles when he said with frazzled good cheer, “Somebody’s got to have an easy question. It’s Christmas, y’all.”
