Those owning residential property in Cartersville could get some tax relief if a new ballot measure is approved by voters in November. City attorney Keith Lovell said city officials are working with the local state delegation on the measure during the city council meeting Thursday night.
He said the city is asking local legislators to pass a local law during this Georgia General Assembly providing for a $100,000 homestead tax exemption.
“This is not just for seniors,” Lovell said. “This is for all residential homeowners. Then, the senior exemption would be on top of that.”
Passing a local law is just the first step. It would then be placed on the Cartersville ballot in November for city residents vote on. Approval would allow the exemption to go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Lovell said the city would lose $930,000 in taxes with the new exemption but that could be replaced with monies generated by new industries and investments made into the city.
News of a possible tax break came among other financial reports at the Cartersville city council meeting. Gabe Agan of Raymond James said the bond sales for a massive water and sewer ordinance were successful in raising the $250 million in financing.
“This is a big project but the city really went into it in good shape,” Agan said.
The bonds are 10-year bonds.
The city council had its second reading of the ordinances for the supplemental series 2026 water and sewer bond ordinance. Lovell said all the numbers were inserted in the paperwork. The council will vote on it at the next meeting.
Agan said they had to wait on the bond sale until the audit of city finances was completed. Ray Jones, CPA for Mauldin & Jenkins, presented audit findings to the council. He said the final opinion is the city has the highest level of assurance. It has $570.4 million in a combined net position. It had $33.1 million in general operation revenues where 63 percent came from taxes.
The bulk of expenses for fiscal year 2025, 50 percent, was for public safety. The final balance was $42.4 million. That is up by $4 million from last year, Jones said.
The council heard from a Deerfield Estates resident who said that youth had caused significant damage to her property and neighborhood. She commended the police department and code enforcement for handling the situation but wanted a permanent solution.
She said youth living in nearby subsidized apartments cut a hole through the fence behind her property and caused more than $9,000 to her backyard while they were away. The apartments have been cited by code enforcement before for violations, according to city officials. It was the subject of four court actions in four years with the owner cited with approximately $20,000 in fines.
City officials talked with her after the meeting to get more information.
In other business:
The city approved moving utility lines to accommodate new construction of a Chick-Fil-A at State Road 20 and Highway 411. The restaurant chain will reimburse the $45,842.01 spent to move the lines.
The council approved a change order to build a storage shed in the Dellinger Park Softball Project. The Cartersville school system requesting the change agreed to pay the additional $52,560.
The city approved spending $28,010 on two three-phase padmount transformers.
A $46,621.99 utility pole storage bunk purchase was approved.
The city approved an emergency ordinance to correct a street name. A street always called North Point is legally called Pointe North. The problem is the police couldn’t issue citations in the no parking zone on the street with the incorrect name. Correcting the name allows officers to write tickets.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook,X,YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.