City attorney: November ballot will ask Loganville voters to approve a floating homestead exemption under House Bill 745

City attorney Paul informed the council that House Bill 745 creates a floating homestead exemption that will appear as a question on the November ballot specific to the City of Loganville. He read the ballot language to the council and explained the mechanics: a voter "yes" would adopt a city homestead exemption that limits growth in assessed value for homestead property by the Consumer Price Index each year (with a 0.25% cap addition), and the change would apply only to city ad valorem taxes, not county or school taxes.

Paul cautioned that implementation raises administrative challenges: the city does not currently have software to track the individualized homestead calculations and will need processes to determine each homestead’s base assessed value and future CPI adjustments. He said the statute allows cities to begin implementation in 2026 if voters approve by February 1, and noted that adopting the exemption would limit the council’s ability to continue annual tax "rollbacks" the council has used in recent years.

Council members asked whether the change would affect county or school levies (it would not), how the amendment would change a property owner’s assessed value over time, and what the fiscal effect would be; Paul said the city will still need to raise revenue to meet budget needs and that current property-tax receipts are roughly $150,000 short of covering police and fire costs. Paul said staff will return with technical details and possible actions next month and may need to call the election depending on statutory timing.