The Augusta Commission voted to “opt out” of the provisions of House Bill 581 for a floating homestead exemption Tuesday with the promise the city will implement a “local version” of the tax break later on.
The commission also welcomed back to the dais missing member Brandon Garrett, who has been absent since October for personal reasons.
The bill would have limited property tax reassessments to the rate of inflation, similar to exemptions some cities already have in place. But it gave local governments the ability to opt out, as Augusta did Tuesday.
The vote was 8-2 with Mayor Garnett Johnson voting in favor, commissioners Jordan Johnson and Tony Lewis opposed and Commissioner Alvin Mason absent.
Commissioners Wayne Guilfoyle and Don Clark said the decision has been a tough one. Opting in leaves Augusta “reliant on the state” while the break wouldn’t have helped all homeowners, Guilfoyle said.
Supporters of opting out have noted it won’t help Augusta’s many absentee owners of residential real estate and will shift the tax burden away from homesteaders, those who live in their homes, to non-homesteaded property.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, state legislators are considering House Bill 92, which would postpone the deadline for opting out to March 31. If it passes as currently written, it would also give governments the ability to rescind their decision to opt out.
“This wasn’t a great bill that was drafted and put in front of us,” Clark said. “I would feel a heck of a lot more confident if we had more control at a local level.”
Administrator Tameka Allen presented several options for Augusta to adopt other tax breaks in lieu of opting out:
- A validation freeze such as Savannah and Columbus have. If implemented four years ago, this would have helped 82% of Augusta homesteaders and resulted in the shift of about 10% of revenues away from homestead property
- A floating homestead for seniors age 65 and up only. This would benefit fewer homesteaders and shift less funds away from residential.
- A floating homestead tied to the Housing Price Index instead of the Consumer Price Index. This would help 55% of homesteaders but shift only 2.8% of revenues away from homestead property.
Mayor Johnson said after the vote the government will work to create an exemption that helps homesteaders.
“This was a tough vote, but this governing body has the intent of making sure we protect all taxpayers in Richmond County, especially those that have homesteaded properties,” he said. “And we’re going to work through a local version that gives us control in Augusta that provides the same protections.”
Garrett speaks out
Absent since early October, Garrett addressed his colleagues and the public, asking for forgiveness for “sins of pride and arrogance toward you all.”
Garrett said he and his family spent the last four months in a “remote, faith-based residential counseling center in the wilderness of upstate New York” where he and his family worked through issues that “resulted from sin in my life.”
