A bill that aims to provide property tax relief by limiting assessments is pending in the Senate Finance Committee amid concerns from the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) that it would leave local systems without enough money to function.
S.B. 249, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), revises how millage rates are set, sets new guidelines for how taxes are handled when an assessment case is appealed, and offers a statewide homestead tax exemption with a 3 percent cap increase on all property tax assessments.
The bill has been read in the Senate and is in the Senate Finance Committee, which Hufstetler chairs. It has strong Republican support, according to the Georgia tracker for bills.
The bill will also limit what taxpayers ask for in temporary reduction in taxes while their assessment case works its way through the Superior Court should they not participate in a settlement conference.
The bill focuses on whether the new assessment or millage is the same or reduced from the previous year and how the process works in that situation. It also stipulates that evidence should include the fair market value of the property for the prior year and current year rather than the assessed value of the taxpayer’s property.
Hufstetler said the bill is needed because property taxes have increased in recent years that are based solely on the assessed value of a home. He said assessments have dramatically increased between 25 and 40 percent. That’s why the bill stipulates a 3 percent cap on assessment statewide, regardless of the property’s value.
It is the assessment cap that troubles the state school association. GSBA officials testified the impact, particularly on districts with majority residences, would be harsh. The Georgia Constitution caps school systems at 20 mills so they can’t raise the millage to get more funding.
The way around that now is to raise property assessments so each mill brings in more money. Many residents, including those in Bartow, have been getting sticker shock when their yearly assessments come yearly over recent years with some claiming the assessments are above the value of their homes.
Capping assessments for residents who already live in the district would mean new residents would get the full tax burden based on the latest, increased value of their properties.
It would put more responsibility for local funding of services on new property owners and that could impact local economic development, according to Justin Pauly of the GSBA.
Suzanne Widenhouse, chief appraiser for Columbus-Muscogee County, said a freeze in their area cost approximately $56 million in tax revenue. She said the lost money has to come from somewhere because the county isn’t going to cut back on services.