Chatham County holds public hearing on new homestead exemption under HB 581; no opt-in decision made

Chatham County commissioners on Tuesday held a public hearing to receive information about House Bill 581 (HB 581), a state measure that would create a new base‑year homestead exemption with an annual inflation adjustment, and how it would interact with the county's existing Stevens Day base‑year exemptions.

Corey, interim chief appraiser for the Chatham County Board of Assessors, told commissioners the county must complete three public hearings required under the current statute but that the state Legislature was still adjusting HB 581. He said the county's valuation software will automatically compare savings from Stevens Day and the new HB 581 exemption and apply whichever yields greater savings for an eligible homestead property. "House Bill 581 does not eliminate any existing homestead exemptions for any jurisdiction," Corey read from guidance, adding the law "may override existing floating, base year, and frozen exemptions if that exemption provides a greater benefit to the taxpayer."

The assessors' presentation outlined how the two exemptions operate. In Georgia, assessed value is 40 percent of fair market value, and a Stevens Day base‑year value is set to the prior year's fair market value for the property when the exemption is first awarded. HB 581 would allow properties larger than five acres to qualify for a similar base‑year exemption and would include an annual inflationary adjustment to the base value, likely tied to a consumer price index, to be announced by the state revenue commissioner.

The assessors' office estimated about 80 county properties currently have homestead exemptions but do not have Stevens Day because of the five‑acre limit; the county tax digest includes roughly 25,000 properties in total, the chief appraiser said. The presentation used examples showing that, over time, an inflationary adjustment to a base year can reduce the relative savings from an older Stevens Day exemption because the adjusted base value grows each year.

Commissioners pressed staff on fiscal impacts and implementation. Several commissioners, including Commissioner Milton and Commissioner Kicklighter, emphasized the county needs clearer revenue estimates for both the maintenance-and-operations (M&O) levy and special service districts (SSD) before deciding whether to opt in for county taxation. The chair said county leaders had been asked by state legislators to pause final decisions while the Legislature considers amendments to HB 581; the chair said a related House bill, HB 92, was expected to be voted on in the coming week and could change deadlines and language.

Public commenter Tony Riley asked how the measure would affect individual taxpayers whose home values fluctuate and mortgages or escrow payments change. The chief appraiser recommended property owners with specific concerns bring property details to the assessors' office for an individual review and reiterated that HB 581 applies only to qualifying primary residences.

No formal opt‑in or opt‑out motion was made at the hearing. Commissioners and assessors said software preparations are underway so the county can implement the comparison automatically for taxpayers if the county ultimately opts in; conversely, opting out would leave Stevens Day as the controlling award. The board scheduled additional required public hearings and said it will wait for final legislative action before making a decision.

The county will hold the next public hearing at the start of Wednesday's meeting; commissioners said they will not act until legislators complete their changes and the county has updated technical and fiscal analyses.