The Augusta Commission threw homeowners a bone Tuesday, approving a flat 3.5% cap on reassessments used to calculate their tax bills. The move, which passed 10-1 on Tuesday, aims to provide stability for homeowners facing rising property values.
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle, who initially opposed adopting a limit on reassessments for fear it will shift the tax burden to non-homesteaders, made the motion to approve. Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice seconded the motion and it passed 10-1 with Commissioner Alvin Mason absent.
The vote followed a sparsely-attended information session in which staff presented three options for using an index to limit reassessments. Many homeowners in recent years have experienced sticker shock from sudden increases in taxable property values driven by neighboring sales.
A shift from House Bill 581
The commission voted last month to “opt out” of House Bill 581, which would have provided a “floating” homestead exemption that amounted to a cap on reassessments tied to the consumer price index, or CPI, which averaged about 2.5% over the last 30 years. In doing so, commissioners agreed to adopt some other option for providing relief to homeowners who live in their homes.
The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, which supported the opt-out, voiced its opposition as well to the commission approving any other additional exemption Tuesday. Sue Parr, representing the chamber, said its members remain opposed to any savings that will shift the tax burden away from homesteaders to commercial property owners.
“From the chamber’s perspective, there is no rush,” said Parr, urging commissioners to let a study committee further examine the options before making any decision.
Race against the legislative deadline
The rush Tuesday was to meet a deadline for asking area legislators to introduce a local bill applying the cap before the session ends, city officials have said. With it comes the option to impose an additional half-cent sales tax, and Richmond County voters must approve both before they are implemented, they said.
Guilfoyle said he “wanted to look at doing a FLOST immediately.” That’s the acronym for a local option sales tax tied to the new exemption. Revenue would help replace that lost to the increased homestead savings, officials have said.
Comparing Augusta’s tax policies to other jurisdictions
City Administrator Tameka Allen also presented information regarding Columbia County’s proposal to increase the county’s homestead exemption amount to $10,000. The county’s current exemption is $2,000. Augusta’s is currently $5,000.
If Augusta raised its homestead amount, it would cost city coffers about $1 million, Allen said.
Former Commissioner Moses Todd, who spoke at the session, said his status as a disabled veteran and non-homesteaded property owner made the exemption of little benefit to him, but he advocated for the commission to adopt some form of tax relief for homesteaders.
“Voters gave this commission a mandate,” Todd said, referring to the referendum approval voters gave House Bill 581 in November.
What happens if no action is taken?
Commissioner Stacy Pulliam asked about the impacts of the commission approving none of the options Tuesday. “Nothing would change,” Allen said, meaning revenue streams would remain as is.
Governments around the state took all sorts of approaches to the bill. Savannah opted out because it already has what’s known as the Stephens-Day exemption, which locks in a property’s base value at the year of purchase, preventing reassessments from being influenced by neighboring sales. Savannah officials have called it the “Cadillac” of tax exemptions.
