Jones County holds public hearing on HB 581 floating homestead exemption, board begins opt‑out process

County Administrator Jason Risner explained House Bill 581 and its local effects at a Feb. 4 public hearing, and the Jones County Board of Commissioners moved forward with the formal process to opt out of the bill’s statewide floating homestead exemption.

"None of our existing exemptions are affected by HB 581," Jones County Administrator Jason Risner said, summarizing the legislation and the steps a jurisdiction must take to opt out. He told residents the bill creates a statewide "floating" homestead exemption that ties a homeowner’s taxable value to a 2024 base year and then increases that base by a fixed inflation factor rather than by changes in market value.

The hearing matters because the floating exemption can lock taxable values to a base year. That can limit how quickly a property’s assessed value catches up with market changes if local assessments are currently lower than market value, potentially shifting future revenue and service funding choices for the county.

Riser and other officials described three main HB 581 components: the floating homestead exemption with an inflation adjustment, a new local-option sales tax path (often called a FLOST) counties may pursue, and procedural changes to assessment notices and appeals. Risner said the base year for the floating exemption would be the 2024 assessed value, the exemption is tied to a specific parcel and resets on sale or substantial change, and the state form will show an estimated rollback rate instead of an estimated tax amount. He also said the law requires a countywide reappraisal of all properties at least every three years.

Commissioner Kitchens criticized the bill’s legislative process and raised concerns about uneven assessment values within the county. "This bill did not go through that way. It was very confusing. It was very, in my opinion, push through," Kitchens said, adding that if local assessed values are substantially below market, a floating exemption set to a modest inflation rate could prevent those assessments from ever aligning with market values.

County staff noted that the Board has the annual authority to adjust the millage rate and that a jurisdiction that opts out could later pursue a locally structured homestead exemption through the legislative process. Risner told residents that the county has already voted to begin the opt-out process and outlined the procedural steps: three publicly advertised hearings (one held Jan. 28, the Feb. 4 hearing, and one more scheduled for a Thursday at 6 p.m.), followed by a resolution delivered to the secretary of state's office by March 1 if the board chooses to opt out.

Resident Gussie Green Sutton asked whether school tax exemptions for seniors would be affected; staff and Risner said those existing exemptions would remain in place. "My concern is, the school tax for seniors," Sutton said; Risner and county staff clarified that a separate $15,000 school exemption for seniors (when applicable) is unchanged by HB 581 and that forms and sign‑up information are available from the tax assessor’s office.

Officials also discussed planning and funding for a countywide revaluation to correct inconsistent assessments. Risner described the typical appraisal factors—age, construction type, size, comparable sales—and said the county will address a full reassessment process. County leaders warned residents that if the county remained in HB 581, future homebuyers would establish new base years on sale and could cause uneven tax shifts among owners.

The meeting closed after public comment. Commissioners moved to adjourn the public hearing and continue with a called meeting the same evening to consider a formal resolution related to the opt‑out process.