Rockdale tax commissioner outlines HB 581 changes as resident urges budget cut instead of opting out

At a Rockdale County Board of Education work session in December, Rockdale County Tax Commissioner Tisa Smart Washington briefed the board on how House Bill 581 will change property valuation and the timing of tax notices and rollback calculations.

Washington told the board the law will remove the estimated tax amount from the assessment notice and change how appeals and valuation freezes work for homestead properties. “There will no longer be an estimated tax on the assessment notice,” she said, adding that the homestead valuation freeze created by the new law applies only to homestead properties and not to rental or commercial properties.

Why it matters: HB 581 alters when taxpayers first learn their tax obligation, changes the appeals process and requires levying authorities to decide whether to opt out. Washington said levying authorities will need to determine an estimated rollback rate at the start of the year and that she will produce a later, final rollback calculation during the digest process. She warned that the annual “inflationary rate” used for valuation adjustments will be set by the state revenue commissioner and may differ year to year.

Public speaker Michael Kalicak urged the board not to opt out of HB 581. He said opting out would affect “19,557 taxpayers in this great Rockdale County,” a figure he said represented 58.5% of the county’s 33,403 tax parcels. He recommended the board “reduce your budget 5%, which will provide you $11,096,466 minus the HB 581,” and said that even if the county opted out it would still have “$4,300,000 to operate this school system with.”

Washington gave a different administrative number for homestead properties, saying Rockdale had 19,107 homestead properties in 2024 and presented historical assessed-value and net-taxable-value figures she said her office uses to estimate revenue. She also explained changes to the appeal process: taxpayers who appeal their value must now participate in the board of assessors’ hearing to preserve a multiyear freeze; simply filing an appeal for the freeze will no longer guarantee it.

Board procedure: Washington described the opt‑out mechanics the board would face if it chooses to do so. Under the law, a levying authority remains automatically enrolled in the new assessment regime unless it holds three public hearings and notifies the Georgia Secretary of State by March 1. Washington said her office provided the board with numbers intended to help that decision.

What officials said next: Superintendent Rhodes (via the meeting’s presenters) said staff would follow up with board members and with members of the public who requested additional detail.

Ending: Washington said her office will provide more detailed calculations and follow up with board members and members of the public. A separate presentation later in the meeting addressed related local revenue implications and budget priorities.