Augusta leaders weigh the will of voters on tax exemption

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta commissioners on Monday spent a lot of their meeting discussing the law allowing the city to opt out of a “floating” homestead exemption for property taxes.

A new Georgia law was approved by voters to cap property tax increases. But as part of that law, local communities can opt out of the plan – and several in the CSRA say they intend to do so after a required series of public hearings.

Whether Augusta will do so was a topic of discussion Monday.

At the Augusta Commission meeting, Bob Young reminded fellow commissioners that 60% of Augusta voters voted “yes” for the homestead exemption.

He says the question of opting out of the cap goes beyond the homestead exemption but rather casts doubt on whether referendums mean anything in Richmond County.

“The exemption is just another incentive for people to invest in homeownership in Augusta, Richmond County,” said Young. “So my message to you is that you don’t need to schedule any public hearings about opting out. The public hearing was held on Nov. 5, when 48,000 people in Richmond County said give us our tax break.”

He said he doesn’t understand why anyone would consider taking away the voices of more than 60% and “tossing it out” in a process he called voter nullification.

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Augusta Commission: More from the meeting

1. Leaders discussed the number of small signs advertising home repairs and other services in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Rice says she’s willing “to yank the signs up” if it helps speed up the process.
2. Shovon Burton discussed the Laurel Park subdivision. She said the storm drains are “polluted” with trees and other debris. Commissioner Catherine Rice recommended Burton discuss the matter with engineering and code enforcement administrator’s office to work something out
3. Commissioners approved the recommendation of the Daniel Field General Aviation Commission to award the airfield pavement rehab project to Reeves Construction under a state grant contract for $4.6 million.

He says the exemption “brings some control” to property taxes, and he doesn’t understand why officials didn’t voice concerns prior to the November vote.

Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said the challenge for a lot of elected officials is that they don’t know what the impact of the cap would be.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.

Guilfoyle also questioned what will happen to businesses and new construction in the community if commissioners take action on the homestead exemption

“We also are going to have to find funding to stay and keep our operations going, especially with our new sheriff’s department,” said Guilfoyle. “You got our judicial and you even got the marshal’s department that’s coming for us now looking for funding. Well, we are $8.7 million in the rear right now. Money’s got to come from somewhere and that’s something that we have to look at. That’s the elephant in the room for me.”

Young said these questions should have been answered before the referendum went on the ballot.

Mayor Garnett Johnson read the resolution straight from the ballot and said the opt-out potential was included in the language of the resolution voters pondered in November.

Young, on the other hand, said the ballot measure was written in “word salad.”

Commissioner Francine Scott said people need to know the 62% who voted for the measure indicated the percentage of voters, not the percentage of homeowners.

At the meeting, Sue Parr spoke on behalf of her client the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce.

“Opting out of this measure is not a tax break for the business community,” said Parr. “It is simply a matter of assessing equitable, fair property tax value on property, whether it’s commercial or homestead. We need both.”

She agreed with Young about not wanting to nullify the vote but advocated moving forward with public hearings – saying that would be a chance for commissioners to hear what the community has to say and for business owners to explain what the tax hike would do to customers.

She said 50% of homes in Augusta-Richmond County are not owner-occupied, and that there’s a lot of new housing on the way.

“This shouldn’t be a debate,” she said. “It should be a coming together.”

City Administrator Tameka Allen said officials will meet Wednesday to discuss public hearings so officials can decide what to do before the March 1 deadline.

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