Chamblee holds public hearing on Georgia’s HB 581 floating homestead exemption; no vote taken

Chamblee — City officials held a public hearing on HB 581, the Georgia law that created a statewide floating homestead exemption, during a Chamblee City Council meeting. City staff explained how the exemption adjusts a home’s taxable base by an annual inflation rate, described timing and transfer rules, and answered questions before hearing two public comments. No formal motion or vote to opt out was taken.

The floating homestead exemption, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly and effective Jan. 1, 2025, reduces increases in a residence’s taxable value by “floating” the homestead base year amount forward each year by an inflation rate the Department of Revenue will set, city staff said. The exemption applies only to qualifying homesteads, does not apply to commercial property and cannot be transferred when a homeowner sells a property.

City staff told the council that if Chamblee opts in to the statewide floating homestead exemption, every homesteaded property in the city that already receives a homestead exemption would automatically receive the floating exemption; the city’s existing $50,000 general homestead exemption would then be applied after the floating exemption is calculated. Staff also said the law gives municipalities one opportunity to opt out of the statewide provision before March 1, 2025, and that a later locally created floating exemption could be adopted but would not permit the city to rescind the statewide opt‑in after that deadline.

During the presentation, staff emphasized several open details in state guidance. The Department of Revenue has not yet announced the formula or numeric annual rate that will be used to adjust the base year value (staff said it is expected to be tied to CPI but had not been specified). Staff provided a staff-commissioned, high-level estimate that the city could see an initial revenue impact starting in 2025 of roughly $80,000, growing in subsequent years — with a notional projection approaching about $500,000 by 2029 — and cautioned that the calculation used multiple assumptions and is a rough estimate.

Council members and staff discussed the interaction between property tax reductions and the city’s revenue needs. A council member noted that if assessed values subject to taxation grow more slowly because of the exemption, the city could compensate by raising the millage rate to maintain the same revenue level. Staff confirmed that possibility.

Staff also described a separate provision of HB 581 that would allow an optional floating local sales tax to offset revenue losses, but explained that the local sales tax option only applies if every city in a county and the county government all opt out of the statewide floating homestead exemption — a coordination requirement Chamblee staff said makes that option unlikely in DeKalb County.

Two residents spoke during public comment. Arthur Jaber, a 29‑year Chamblee homeowner, said, “I think we should opt out,” and argued a local option sales tax would be a regressive replacement for property tax revenue. Bonnie Sheberin of Sexton Woods also urged the council to opt out and said she spoke on behalf of a neighbor who wants the city to do the same.

No motion to opt out was made during the hearing and no vote occurred. City staff said this meeting is one of three public hearings the city is holding to consider the opt‑out question and reiterated the March 1, 2025 statutory deadline for exercising the one-time opt‑out. The council opened the floor for public comment, heard the two residents, and then adjourned.

Next steps: the council will complete the scheduled public hearings on HB 581 and may later place an opt‑out ordinance on a future agenda; staff did not announce a planned vote at this meeting.