Grovetown City Council voted unanimously during its regular meeting, Monday night, to hold three public hearings regarding House Bill 581.
The city is the latest among CSRA municipalities scheduling hearings related to the new legislation, which allows floating homestead exemptions, and also for local governments to opt out of such exemptions.
The law requires that any municipal governments or school districts elect to opt out must do so via a resolution by March 1, which in turn requires holding three public meetings—at least one of them during the work week, between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m.—to allow input from citizens.
Mayor Pro Tem Eric Blair urged Grovetown residents to attend and participate in the meetings.
“There are pros and there are cons on each side,” Blair said, “Come out, listen to the presentation and make an informed decision… just let your voice be heard… This is a very complex issue because it has lasting effects, one way or the other.”
Blair also acknowledged that some 72% of Columbia County voters favored HB 581 in a statewide referendum in November.
Councilmember Richard Bowman also encouraged citizens to go to the meetings and stay informed, saying that, “It does have lasting effects, because once we either stay in or opt out, we can’t reverse that decision.”
Finance Director Bradley Smith told the council that a schedule for the upcoming hearings will be distributed to councilmembers for approval before publicly advertising the hearing dates.
The council approved the city hiring Cohutta, Ga. contractor 3B Services for over $146,000 to conduct a service line inventory, examining pipes of more than 1,800 homes to see if any are made of lead.
As part of its monthly acknowledgement of local Vietnam veterans, on Monday the council honored Joe Lewis Collins.
Spc. Collins trained at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and during the war served as a cook and hospital kitchen supervisor at the former Fort Gordon. He received the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Marksman badge.
Collins expressed gratitude to the council, Mayor Jones and meeting attendees, saying, “I’m just amazed… it’s a good feeling…” before offering a prayer over the City of Grovetown.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
