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Cobb County holds first of three public hearings on HB 581; residents urge board to opt out
Summary
At a Jan. 28 public hearing, county staff explained House Bill 581’s floating homestead exemption and possible local impacts; dozens of residents urged the Board of Commissioners to opt out, citing uncertainty about tax shifts, a potential extra sales-tax penny and effects on seniors and renters.
County officials held the first of three required public hearings on House Bill 581 on Jan. 28, laying out how the statewide floating homestead exemption would change how homesteaded property values are treated and what local officials must decide. Finance Director Bill Volkmann and Support Services Director-designate Steven White explained the county’s options and answered a lengthy question-and-answer session with the board and the public.
Volkmann said the measure “is, regarding the creation of a statewide homestead float” and described mechanics that would carry 2024 assessed values forward as a base and permit an annual inflationary multiplier set by the state revenue commissioner. He and Steven White emphasized the decision is one-time and that the county’s existing general-fund homestead freeze would not change; the primary local impact in Cobb would be to the fire fund, not the general fund.
The hearing drew extensive public comment. Kathy Slough, a 40-year resident, told commissioners: “I urge all of you to opt out of HB 581 and for the state legislature to rewrite the bill without these harmful additions.” Other speakers, including Craig Harfoot and Donald Barth, said the law contains hidden tax shifts or could allow an additional sales-tax penny and urged the board to protect seniors and fixed-income households.
County staff and a representative from the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) repeatedly told the public there is no automatic 3% tax in the final bill text; rather, the inflation adjustment is tied to a CPI-based rate promulgated by the Department of Revenue. As the ACCG representative put it, the law does not force a local sales-tax increase and any additional local sales tax (a FLOST) would require separate local action and voter referendum.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about whether values could decline and how appeal processes would work. In response, staff said the mechanism compares a base year value to the current fair-market value and that taxpayers would pay on the lower of the two if fair-market value falls below the base. Staff also said the bill contains appeal-process changes intended to reduce prior misuse of the appeal lock by institutional buyers.
No vote was taken; the board scheduled two additional public hearings and encouraged residents to use an HB 581 FAQ posted on the county website and to attend town halls and future hearings for more detail. The county said staff will update the FAQ and make staff available to answer follow-up questions before the board's eventual opt-in/opt-out decision.
