Savannah–Chatham County holds public hearing on statewide floating homestead exemption, vote set for Feb. 19

Savannah–Chatham County held a public hearing Feb. 8 on Georgia House Bill 581, the statewide “floating” homestead exemption enacted April 18, 2024, with county staff explaining how the law differs from Chatham County’s long‑standing Stevens Day homestead exemption and residents urging local officials to opt out.

Lamedice Holmes, controller in the Division of Finance, said House Bill 581 establishes a statewide floating exemption that freezes a homeowner’s base year value and allows annual adjustments based on a consumer price index formula. Holmes said the law also includes an optional local sales‑tax referendum that jurisdictions may use to offset property tax revenue and that it does not eliminate existing homestead exemptions unless the state exemption would provide a greater benefit to the taxpayer.

Holmes said the county’s Stevens Day homestead exemption — enacted in 1998 and named after state legislators Ron…