Harlem City Council held the third and final of its required public hearings about HB 581, Thursday evening.
City Manager Debra Moore explained that only 30% of the parcels in Harlem are homesteaded and would be eligible for the exemption outlined in the legislation. She also noted that 29% of the city’s operating budget is derived from property taxes, and that a similar cap on taxes over the past five years would have averaged to about $160,000 in revenue loss.
City attorney Tom Watkins mentioned that the Georgia General Assembly is considering another piece of legislation, House Bill 92, that would extend the deadline for governing bodies in the state to opt out of 581’s homestead exemption to May. The deadline is currently March 1.
Mayor Roxanne Whitaker expressed doubt that HB 92 would pass by the March deadline, but also noted another bill going through the assembly, HB 370, that would require a disclaimer on every tax bill which school districts and local governments that opted out of 581’S homestead exemption.
Holly Connell, a Harlem homeowner in attendance, asked the council why the city was considering opting out of the exemption. Connell explained that she applied for a homestead exemption in 2020, learning about the option after her husband passed away that year.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on, get a better understanding of, you know, the reason to opt out,” Connell said to the council, noting her property’s rising mortgage rates each year. “So I can try to… reassess my living condition and figure out what I do.”
In response to Connell, Whitaker noted that the city must deliberate between opting out of the exemption, or otherwise making up the loss in revenue by reducing services or raising the millage rate, which has not increased since 2016.
Councilman Gregg Stokes also noted that councilmembers, the mayor and city administration are all subject to the same fees and taxes as the rest of Harlem’s citizens.
“I want to assure you that we all want to make sure that we hold our taxes to work, but we also want quality service, so we have to weigh that,” Whitaker said, also noting that the tax assessment process starts at the state level. “[The state] sends down a CPI (consumer price index) for our assessor to create the digest based on the state figures. And you have to use their figures, or they’ll fine you.”
Harlem City Council is scheduled to hold a special called meeting to vote on whether the city will opt out of HB 581 on Thursday, Feb. 27.
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Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
