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Administration committee reviews ordinance forgiving taxes for two historically exempt properties
Summary
Bill 2 of 2026 would forgive 2024–2025 city real estate taxes (including interest and penalties) and remove tax liens for two properties that county records indicate remained tax‑exempt historically; Solicitor Grover said similar reconciliations have come to council before after county re‑certification.
The Administration Committee considered Bill 2 of 2026, an ordinance to forgive and discharge city real estate taxes for 2024 and 2025 and strike off tax liens for certain properties that are historically tax‑exempt. Solicitor Grover said the county required re‑certification of tax‑exempt status in recent years and some small churches did not return forms, which erroneously placed them on the tax rolls.
Grover said the parcels under consideration include Mount Olive Baptist Church and properties listed as Agape Tabernacle of Praise at 1336 and 1330 Green Street. "As they get passed, we then bring these forward to council to basically forgive the taxes that were in place because they should have been exempt but for their paperwork missing," he said.
Council members acknowledged past practice of forgiving taxes when the exemption status is restored. Vice President Jones raised a broader policy point, citing what he described as a large share of city land currently tax‑exempt (he referenced roughly 1,640 exempt properties and a large assessed value), and asked how the city should approach that reality; Grover said changes would require state constitutional or statutory action and that options such as voluntary PILOT payments already exist.
A council member noted a personal recusal related to one of the churches; the committee moved Bill 2 to the next legislative session agenda for a formal vote.
