As voters in Columbia and Richmond counties head to the ballot boxes for the Nov. 4 election, each county has questions on the ballot regarding homestead exemptions.
Columbia County
In Columbia County, there are two questions, one for the county government and one for the Board of Education.
The county question reads: “Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Columbia County ad valorem taxes for county purposes in the amount of $8,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that county?”
The school district question reads: “Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Columbia County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $8,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district?”
Currently, residents who are eligible can get a $2,000 homestead exemption for both the county and school district for their property taxes from the state. What the questions are proposing are to add an additional $8,000 homestead exemption each, which would increase the homestead exemption amount to $10,000.
“The state has a $2,000 homestead exemption,” County Manager Scott Johnson previously told The Augusta Press. “We’re going to ask the voters if they want to add an additional $8,000 homestead exemption from the county. So, you get the state’s $2,000 and you’ll get the county’s $8,000 (for a total of $10,000).”
Currently, Johnson explained, if a house is worth $100,000, the assessed value is taxed at 40%, so it would be $40,000 minus the $2,000 current exemption. With the proposed additional $8,000, the amount is now $30,000 times the millage rate to get property taxes for the county.
It would be the same with the school district with the calculation using the school district millage rate.
Richmond County
Augusta-Richmond County voters will decide whether to approve a new homestead exemption. The exemption freezes property tax assessments and limits increase to 3.2% annually.
Local legislators created the exemption last spring after the Augusta Commission voted to “opt out” of a proposed statewide cap on reassessments. The referendum reads as follows:
“Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Augusta-Richmond County ad valorem taxes for consolidated government purposes in an amount equal to the amount by which the current year assessed value of a homestead exceeds the adjusted base year assessed value, including any final determination of value on appeal pursuant to Code Section 48-5-311 of the O.C.G.A., as amended, of such homestead?”
Voting information
In Columbia County, advanced voting will be Oct. 14-31, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be two advanced voting locations, the G3 Building in Evans and the former Euchee Creek Library in Grovetown.
In Richmond County, voters have four sites where they can cast ballots for the Nov. 4 elections.
Registered voters with ID may cast a ballot early at any of the sites during the advance voting period. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 24.
The following sites are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday, then Oct. 20-25 and Oct. 27-31:
- Linda W. Beazley Community Room at Augusta Municipal Building, 535 Telfair St.
- Henry Brigham Community Center, 2463 Golden Camp Road
- Robert Howard Community Center at Diamond Lakes Park, 103 Diamond Lakes Way
- Warren Road Recreation Center, 300 Warren Road
In addition, Sunday voting will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Beazley Room only.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4 and voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the voters normal polling location. To find your polling location, visit mvp.sos.ga.gov
