HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION TO BE TAKEN AWAY IF OPT OUT IS APPROVED BY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, SCHOOL BOARD, CITY OF GRIFFIN COMMISSIONERS:
Many people voted in November and approved the homestead exemption opt out Bill. Bill 581.
This referendum's passage gave the city, county, and school board the ability to OPT out of Homestead Exemptions for property taxes, meaning we will pay more property taxes and will have no Homestead Exemption.
Three Upcoming Meetings :
Wednesday February 12, 2025 ,
at 10 am and at 6pm
The Final Vote Meeting is
Monday February 17, 2025 at 6pm.
Location: 109 East Solomon Street Griffin,
Room 108
see google maps DIRECTIONS CLICK HERE
Spalding COUNTY plans on another Optional Sales Tax or "Volunteer Tax" the people vote themselves in. The new one they want as a volunteer tax is called Floating Homestead Optional Sales Tax or FLOST.
Was this the plan the entire time?
Now they have the blessings of a state law, voted in by the people, to allow for another optional sales tax, which is voted in by the people to cover the county overspending.
The 2016 SPLOST has come to an end and now they are running out of our volunteer money, the only way to get it back is another LOST, Local Optional Sales Tax.
They are using taking away our homestead exemption and forcing us to choose, between paying thousands more in property taxes or paying more for goods and services we purchase.
When was the last time we had an offset on property taxes?
They can only offset our taxes with optional sales tax revenue if there is no debt, there is always debt. They need to rein in spending PERIOD.
Record revenue for property taxes, record annual budget spending, record local option sales tax revenue from previous local option sales taxes. When is enough?
People are hurting out here. Losing their homes due to being priced out due to high property taxes. Who is not suffering? The local governments that is who.
See below the amount Optional Sales Tax the county had gotten since 1999, school, and traffic and basic: Updated above with new grand total due to December 2024 data missing.
.See Link to agenda here: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/...
The Spalding County School Board will vote OPT OUT of the Homestead Exemptions on February 17, 2025 at 6pm.
The school board and city will also be voting for this measure. Unsure about the time frames, but it has to be done before march 1, 2025.
Meaning MORE AD VALOREM TAXES FOR EACH MILLAGE RATE for all three.
LET THE COUNTY, SCHOOL BOARD, AND CITY OF GRIFFIN KNOW YOU DO NOT WANT TO OPT OUT OF THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION TO PAY MORE TAXES.!!
See FAQ about bill here:
House Bill 581: Homestead Exemption “Opt-Out” Guidance and Model Resolution House Bill 581 was passed by the Georgia General Assembly during the 2024 legislative session and an enabling constitutional amendment (HR 1022) was subsequently approved through a statewide ballot question during the November 2024 election. Within HB 581, O.C.G.A. § 48-5-44.2 provides for a statewide floating homestead exemption which applies to counties, consolidated governments, municipalities, and local school districts (For more information on the statewide floating homestead exemption, please refer to GMA or ACCG HB 581 Resources).
While the homestead exemption automatically applies to all local governments and school districts, these jurisdictions may stop the homestead exemption from becoming effective within their jurisdiction by following certain procedures by March 1, 2025.
O.C.G.A. § 48-5-44.2(i) provides the necessary procedures for local governments to opt out of the HB 581 homestead exemption. To opt out, the local government or school district must adopt a resolution opting out of the exemption (see model resolution provided) after completing the following steps, which must be completed between January 1, 2025, and March 1, 2025:
• The local government must advertise the intent to opt out and conduct at least three public hearings on the issue, with at least one of the public meetings occurring between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. on a business weekday.
• The local government must place an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation serving the residents of the political subdivision and post the advertisement on its website of the local government.
• The advertisement must appear at least one week prior to each hearing, be prominently displayed, be not less than 30 square inches, and not be placed in that section of the newspaper where legal notices appear.
• The advertisement must also be posted on the local government’s website at least one week prior to each hearing. In addition to the advertisement, the local government may include in the notice reasons or explanations for its intention to opt out of the homestead exemption. Simultaneously with the notice the local government must provide a press release to the local media.
CONTACT YOUR OFFICIALS AND SAY NO OPT OUT:
City of Griffin Commissioners: https://www.gscs.org/o/gscss/page/meet-the-board-members
Spalding County Board of Commissioners: https://www.spaldingcounty.com/gov.../board-of-commissioners
Griffin Spalding Board of Education: https://www.cityofgriffin.com/government/city-commissioners
TELL THEM NO OPT OUT!!