EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Local governments are still considering whether to opt in or out of the controversial homestead exemption in Georgia. The Columbia County Board of Commissioners will have a hearing at 6 p.m. in the Evans Government Center Auditorium. More than 60% of voters in November said yes to the homestead exemption question on the ballot , which could put a cap on tax hikes on your home. “You are going to have a major problem with price increases, residential taxes, non-homestead taxes and business taxes,” says one Columbia County resident. “It all depends if Columbia County wants to have growth.” The law establishes a floating homestead exemption, which limits the annual increase in property tax assessments on homestead properties to the rate of inflation for the previous year. However, the law has a way out for local municipalities. Counties can announce their plans to opt-out, which then triggers the need for at least three public hearings. After those hearings, governments and school districts will vote on whether to opt in or out. The commissioners and board members in Columbia County that we’ve spoken to say legally, they have to use that language in order to hold the public hearings. Instead, they say they are using these meetings to figure out if they will opt out. Leaders tell us the turnout remains strong during each meeting and that’s what they want. Every piece of community input plays a part in the overall decision. It’s all about House Bill 581. “It’s a very complex bill,” said Scott Johnson, county manager for Columbia County. “It’s not just as easy as saying we’re going to give everybody a tax break.” Leaders like Johnson say it’s not as easy as 1-2-3. “In a lot of instances, House Bill 581 does not give a tax break,” said Johnson. “So capping the assessments does not in itself create a tax break.” “The floating local option sales tax would replace the lost revenue,” said Johnson. “House Bill 581 puts a cap on homesteaded properties and as a result of that cap, there’s going to be some missing revenue. But that will be made up for in the floating local option sales tax, should we get that in place.” But there’s only one way the sales tax can be an option for voters in November. “Everybody has to opt in,” said Johnson. “If anybody opts out, not counting the school board, the school board’s completely independent, they don’t get the sales tax. But to get the sales tax, the county, and in our case, the counties Harlem and Grovetown would all have to opt in for us to even be able to ask the citizens for the sales tax. Any entity opts out, all are out.” That’s where leaders are hitting another roadblock. “The problem that we’re running into is for Columbia County, we have to decide by March 1, whether we’re going to opt in or opt out. Grovetown and Harlem have to decide by March 1, whether they’re going to opt in or opt out,” said Johnson. “Then we will not know if we get the sales tax in place until November, so that creates a divide there, not understanding if we’re going to be able to replace that revenue.” And they’re still unsure of the best option for the county. “So we’re still going to have to tighten our belt,” he said. “We’re still going to have to make sure that we balance our budgets carefully because even with the additional sales tax, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to have additional money coming in. So for us, I don’t know that there’s a better way one way or the other.” Columbia County has one final meeting on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. If you can’t make these meetings they are on their website where you can watch them live or replay as needed. In Augusta, the Commission meets at 6 p.m. at Diamond Lakes Regional Park.
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