Gainesville City staff to advertise hearings on local 3% homestead reassessment cap

Gainesville City School staff told the board they will run required public notices and hold three hearings this winter as part of moves to adopt a local 3% cap on homestead reassessments.

At the meeting Speaker 2 summarized recent state legislation, referencing "House Bill 581 and House Bill 1271," and said the district intends to adopt the local 3% cap and complete the required advertising process. "We do have to have this approved as a resolution and to the secretary of state talks before our closing business on 12/28/2025," Speaker 2 said.

Under the schedule provided to the board, the district will place three legally required advertisements (one to run between 6:00 and 7:00, as described by staff), publish a press release and hold three hearings: the first hearing is set for Jan. 21 (following a 5:30 p.m. board meeting), a second hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3 prior to the work session, and a final hearing is planned for Feb. 18 before the board meeting. Staff said those dates and the advertisements are intended to satisfy the statutory notice requirements referenced in the presentation.

Board discussion included clarifying questions about timing and whether the proposed changes apply to the military exemptions referenced in the presentation. Staff noted some categories are exempt from the local cap as described in the legislative comparison but did not provide a full list in the meeting record.

Next steps: staff will publish the advertised notices, issue a press release and return the resolution to the board for formal consideration before the Dec. 28, 2025 filing deadline with the secretary of state.