Gwinnett holds public hearing on plan to opt out of state homestead exemption

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing Feb. 4 to receive public comment on the county’s announced intention to opt out of Georgia’s new statewide adjusted base-year ad valorem homestead exemption. The board did not take action at the special-call meeting.

Deputy County Attorney Jenny Carter summarized the county’s position and the differences between the two exemptions, calling this the second of three required public hearings on the matter. “The county’s VOE has saved Gwinnett homeowners more than $1,000,000,000 on the Gwinnett County portion of their property tax bills,” Carter said, using the county’s acronym for its value offset exemption.

The nut of the dispute, county officials said, is how each exemption treats the taxable base for county taxes. Gwinnett’s value offset exemption (VOE) freezes the taxable value of a homestead in the year the exemption is granted; the recently adopted statewide exemption adjusts the base annually for inflation, which the county described as less favorable to Gwinnett homeowners. County officials said that, unless Gwinnett opts out, the assessor will be required to compute both exemptions and apply whichever produces the larger benefit for a taxpayer, creating extra administrative work.

Carter and other county speakers emphasized that Gwinnett’s VOE applies only to the county government portion of the property tax bill. School districts and municipal governments must separately decide whether to opt out of the statewide exemption. The Gwinnett County Board of Education is scheduled to hold remaining public hearings on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., county staff said; county commissioners will hold another public hearing Feb. 18 at 11 a.m.

Only one member of the public spoke during the hearing. Kathleen Carey of 860 Springrock Drive, Lawrenceville, told the commissioners she supported the county’s intention to continue opting out. “I just want the board to know that I am in favor of them opting out of the state exemption,” Carey said.

The meeting included brief procedural motions: the board approved the meeting agenda and later approved a motion to adjourn; both were carried by voice vote and no roll-call tally was recorded. County staff from the financial services department were available after the hearing to meet with residents who had questions about how the VOE affects individual property bills.

The public hearing was described by officials as an opportunity only to receive comment; commissioners will not respond during the hearing and will not vote on the opt-out decision at this session. Any formal decision by the county to opt out would occur at a later, separate meeting.