Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Camden County moves to opt out of statefloating homestead exemption (HB 581)
Summary
After a staff presentation and public hearing, the Camden County commission voted to opt out of House Bill 581the statefloating base-year homestead exemption, preserving the countyexisting homestead freeze; staff noted the county must file a resolution by March 1.
Camden County commissioners voted at a regular meeting to opt out of the statewide floating base-year homestead exemption enacted by House Bill 581.
County staff presented the policy change and said the county currently operates a base-year value freeze that, they said, provides greater taxpayer benefit than the HB 581 approach, which would instead allow annual increases capped at the consumer price index. "This is just a presentation of what the HB 581 is about," the presenter said during the public hearing on the measure.
The presentation traced the freeze back to 2006 and explained how a homeownermust have applied for a homestead exemption with the tax assessor to receive the base-year protection. Staff said Camden Countybecause it freezes base-year valueshad provided approximately $32,000,000 in cumulative taxpayer savings since the freeze began and about $13,000,000 in savings over the last three years alone. Under HB 581 the exemption would instead increase annually up to the CPI; staff said the countyfreeze is more favorable to taxpayers than the floating approach.
Commission discussion focused on implementation and on some side effects discussed at the public hearing stage, including whether city actions or opt-ins/out in other jurisdictions could affect local exemptions. Staff noted the county is required to file a resolution by March 1 if it chooses to opt out of HB 581, and that the county had advertised the public hearings required by the statute.
During the hearing a commissioner asked whether the school board exemption follows the countystaff said they were not certain and that the effect on city and school exemptions had been a point of discussion. No members of the public spoke for or against the measure during the hearing.
After the public hearing the commission made a motion to opt out and, following a second, the motion carried. The county will file the formal resolution required to opt out of the state floating base-year homestead exemption by the March 1 deadline.
The county did not record a roll-call vote in the meeting transcript; commissioners indicated the motion passed by voice vote.
