Jones County begins public-hearing process to consider opting out of statefloating homestead exemption

Jones County commissioners on Jan. 28 opened the public-hearing process to consider opting out of the statewide "floating" homestead exemption established by House Bill 581, County Administrator Jason Risner said.

The move starts a three-hearing procedure required under the law and must be completed and submitted to the Secretary of State by March 1, Risner said. The county has scheduled make-up hearings and a special-called meeting to consider a final resolution, but the commissioners have not yet passed a final resolution to opt out.

House Bill 581, which the presenter and others in the meeting referred to throughout as "HB 581," created a floating homestead exemption that moves each year with inflation rather than remaining fixed. "The floating part means that it adjusts from year to year," Risner said during his presentation, and he explained the exemption uses the 2024 assessed value as the base year. He added the exemption resets when a property sells or experiences a "substantial property change" and cannot be transferred to a new property.

Why it matters: Commissioners and residents said the county—s current assessment digest contains uneven valuations across neighborhoods; several commissioners warned locking exemptions to 2024 values could limit the county—s ability to correct those inequities or to roll back millage rates when values rise. "The sad part about the bill is it locks you in, so there is no opting out," Commissioner Martin said during discussion. Several members cited state sales-ratio findings indicating Jones County…