The Washington County Board of Education has stated their intentions to opt out of the coming impacts of the recently approved statewide House Bill 581, known as the Floating Homestead Exemption Act.
The bill was passed by the Georgia General Assembly in March of last year and signed by the Governor in April. It required ratification of a constitutional amendment that was voted on and passed by Georgia voters during the November general election and went into effect on January 1.
The Floating Homestead Exemption Act restricts the amount of property tax a governmental entity can collect on homestead properties, particularly in the year of a reassessment of property.
It does not affect the standard homestead exemption already in place.
The act creates a “floating” homestead exemption to limit annual assessment increases on homesteaded properties to the rate of inflation.
The base year assessed value for a home would be initially set at the 2024 value of said home and reset whenever sold or receiving substantial property change.
The Floating Homestead Exemption Act sees a rate of inflation based on the consumer price index is to be annually set by the Georgia Department of Revenue. Home assessment increases are to be limited to this rate of inflation, with any excess being offset by the homestead exemption.
This statewide exemption can be used in addition to other homestead exemptions that are not of base year value. If another base year exemption locally exists, the exemption of greater benefit to the homeowner shall be provided.
To opt out of participation, local governments must pass a resolution and hold three public meetings by March 1.
“The Board of Education has endeavored to keep property taxes as low as possible and considers this to be one of their fundamental responsibilities,” said a news release from the Board. “Opting out of this state-imposed requirement allows us to maintain local control of their taxing authority and best serve the interests of our taxpayers.”
The public hearings are scheduled over the next three Thursdays at varying times to allow for maximum opportunity of local participation. They will be held on January 9 at 10:00 a.m., January 16 at 6:30 p.m., and January 23 at 4:00 p.m. Each meeting is located in the Board of Education Office at 501 Industrial Drive in Sandersville.
“The Board will continue to carefully deliberate regarding the millage they assess and will maintain their commitment to taxpayers to only assess the millage required to continue our charge to educate our community’s students. We encourage all interested parties to attend the hearings and express their concerns.”