Commission weighs bringing back homestead freeze, HB581 implications and millage cap language

Stonecrest Charter Commission members discussed whether to revive a city homestead assessment freeze that expired after taxable year 2019, and considered the local implications of state House Bill 581 and DeKalb County’s recent decision to opt in to the law.

Commissioners reviewed section 5.08 of the charter (homestead exemptions) and section 1.03 paragraph 37(a) (a 3.35‑mill cap on ad valorem taxes). They noted that a homestead freeze in the charter had protected homeowners’ taxable assessed values during the city’s early transition years (2017–2019) and that the freeze provision currently sunsets, so it no longer applies to taxable years 2020 and later unless revived.

Several commissioners raised HB 581 (referred to in the meeting as “H B 5 81”), explaining that the bill creates a new local sales tax option (a floating local option sales tax or “FLOST” in discussion) and caps county total sales tax at 8 percent, which could affect SPLOST proceeds that cities rely on for capital projects. Commissioners flagged uncertainty…