Chamblee holds public hearing on whether to opt out of GeorgiaHouse Bill 581floating homestead exemption

At a public hearing before the Chamblee City Council, city staff described House Bill 581the state law that created a statewide "floating" homestead exemptionand explained that the council must decide whether to opt out before a March 1 deadline.

City staff member Kristen said the council is holding the second of three required public hearings before it could adopt a resolution to opt out. "House Bill 581 . . . implemented a statewide floating homestead exemption for all local governments, including counties, cities, and school boards," Kristen said. She explained the exemption is a base-year or value-offset exemption that "is designed to offset or reduce increases in taxable value to the property."

The nut of the proposal is that the exemption "floats" with inflation: Kristen offered an example, saying that if a home's taxable value rose from $100,000 to $110,000 and inflation were 2 percent, the adjusted base-year value would be…