Marietta council opts out of statewide floating homestead exemption; asks staff to study expanding 1-acre senior exemption

The City of Marietta City Council voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution opting out of the statewide floating homestead exemption created by House Bill 581 and filed the decision for the city portion of tax bills.

City staff presented background on HB 581 and on Marietta—s existing floating base-year homestead exemption, and council members then moved to approve the opt-out resolution. The council also agreed unanimously to place a separate item on the March 6 agenda to consider whether to expand the city—s current one-acre senior homestead exemption.

Council members heard from Ms. Brown, a city staff member, who described HB 581—s purpose and how Marietta—s current local exemption differs. Brown said HB 581 was signed into law Aug. 4, 2024, and provides a statewide floating homestead exemption designed to limit year-over-year taxable value increases for homesteads to the rate of inflation. Under HB 581, homeowners— taxable values would grow only by the inflation factor each year rather than by full reassessment growth.

Brown explained that Marietta already maintains a floating base-year homestead exemption that began in February 2002 and does not include an annual adjustment factor; as a result, long-term qualifying homeowners have paid essentially the same city homestead tax since the base year. She walked the council through an example showing how a hypothetical homeowner—s city tax bill under Marietta—s exemption would remain at about the same dollar amount as in 2002, whereas under a statewide floating exemption tied to inflation the taxable value and city tax would have risen modestly.

Council members clarified that the council—s opt-out affects only the city portion of property tax bills; school systems make separate, independent decisions about whether to accept or opt out of HB 581. Brown told the council the school system had held its own hearings and chosen to opt out separately. The council—s resolution will be submitted to the secretary of state; staff said the statutory filing deadline is March 1 and that the city would turn in the paperwork on the next available Friday.

Separately, the council discussed whether to expand Marietta—s existing one-acre senior homestead exemption. Staff said the current city exemption applies to owner-occupied homesteads where the owner is age 62 or older and exempts up to 1 acre from school taxes; it does not apply to rental or developed non-owner-occupied property. Brown told the council that, using current records, roughly 50 properties in the city now qualify under the 1-acre rule and that increasing the acreage could reduce school board revenue by approximately $150,000 based on currently eligible lots.

Council members and members of the public discussed possible next steps. Resident Larry Wells made public comments questioning the legal basis and historical scope of the city—s exemption and urged clarity about whether the state constitution or legislative action would be required to expand the acreage. City staff and councilmembers said staff will research whether any change would require legislative action or could be handled under home-rule authority, and that if the city chooses to proceed the matter would come back to committee and then the council for further consideration.

By unanimous voice vote, the council approved the opt-out resolution and also approved a motion to place the one-acre-exemption expansion for further study on the March 6 agenda so staff could return with legal and fiscal details.

The actions leave Marietta—s longer-standing local floating base-year exemption in place for city taxes and start a staff review of whether an acreage increase is feasible and how it would affect school funding and annexation patterns.

What—s next: staff will prepare written analysis of legal options (home-rule vs. legislative change), updated fiscal estimates for the school system using additional property records, and a committee agenda item for further review on March 6. The opt-out resolution will be filed with the secretary of state by the city—s stated deadline.