Clarke County board holds first public hearing on House Bill 581 homestead exemption

The Clarke County Board of Education held the first of three required public hearings on House Bill 581 on an evening meeting, receiving a presentation from Chief Financial Officer Chris Greiner and public comment from dozens of residents.

Greiner, the district chief financial officer, told the board that HB 581 creates a statewide "floating homestead exemption" that would limit annual increases in assessed value for homesteaded property to last year’s inflation rate as set by the state revenue commissioner. "Just wanted to kind of do a quick overview of House Bill 581," Greiner said while reviewing updated numbers from the tax commissioner.

The presentation outlined how the policy would affect local revenue. Greiner said property taxes account for roughly 57% of the school system’s general fund revenue and that the FY25 property-tax budget is about $135,000,000 based on an 18.8-mill rate. Using example inflation indexes, the district estimated a revenue decrease of a little over $1,000,000 for 2024 and a cumulative loss of about $7,400,000 over six years under the illustrative scenario. He also noted those figures depend heavily on which inflation index the state uses and that some scenarios could produce larger shortfalls.

Board members asked about budget tradeoffs and constraints. Greiner said existing local exemptions remain unaffected, noting Clarke County’s age-65 exemption (referred to in the presentation as exemption SC) freezes assessed values for qualifying homeowners; that group would be affected only by changes in millage rates. He told the board the law requires three public hearings before the board may act, and that if the board chooses to opt out it must submit a resolution and supporting documentation — including proof of the hearings and published ads — to the Georgia secretary of state by March 1. He said neighboring districts have drafted sample resolutions and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) has model language that could be adapted.

No board vote occurred at the hearing. Greiner said the board will consider the matter at its regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, when it can either draft or approve a resolution to opt out. He said guidance from trainings and seminars the district has attended suggests the decision to opt out would be a one-time choice: "If we don't do anything, we're in it... once this is our one opportunity." Board members and staff also discussed that municipalities were given a local option sales tax (FLoST) to offset lost revenue but that school districts were not granted the same option.

Public comment was dominated by residents who said the board should honor the outcome of the November referendum and not opt out. "That is the number of votes that the voters in Clarke County, 62%, voted to pass 581," citizen Jeb Bradbury said, calling the public will "befuddling" to override. Joan Roden told the board: "It is appalling to see this body attempt to override the vote of the people of Clarke County." Other speakers, including Steve Middlebrooks, Pam Shropshire and John Elliott, similarly urged the board to respect the referendum and to tighten spending rather than seek to opt out.

Speakers arguing for caution about revenue impacts noted potential consequences if the district were to rely on raising the millage rate. Greiner and board members walked through the arithmetic: the district’s current millage cap is 20 mills (the district is at 18.8 mills now), meaning the board could increase by about 1.2 mills as a statutory cap in some contexts; Greiner and members said 1.2 mills equates to roughly $8 million in additional revenue in the district’s estimate. Board members and several commenters also raised concerns that increasing the millage rate could shift burden to renters and to seniors with frozen assessed values, since frozen assessments remain subject to millage-rate changes.

Board and staff answered questions about other revenue sources and program funding. Greiner noted QBE (the state’s Quality Basic Education funding formula) has not kept pace with operating costs, that Title I funding is significant (a speaker cited about $11,000,000 for Title I in the district this past year) and that ESSER funds had been used to temporarily cover some expenses but will end. He said commercial growth in the digest helps cushion revenue, but that scenario planning depends on the inflation index selected by the state revenue commissioner.

The hearing concluded with the board scheduling the additional required hearings on the 21st and 28th (same time, same place) and reiterating that a final decision will be made at the board meeting on Feb. 13. No formal action, vote or resolution on HB 581 occurred at this session.