The city of Clarkesville will hold a public hearing on whether to opt in to House Bill 581 at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at City Hall.
HB 581 is a statewide floating homestead exemption that caps the annual increases in property values as a form of tax relief.
Approved by referendum by a majority of Habersham County voters last November, the bill would cap homestead exempt property valuations to the inflationary rate determined by the Georgia Department of Revenue. The bill also requires the reassessments of properties every three years.
Clarkesville City Manager Keith Dickerson said on Friday that officials plan to opt-in, given other cities do the same.
“We’re opting-in unless somebody else opts out, so we’re just making sure we have our bases covered,” he said.
The Habersham County School System so far has been the lone government body to announce plans to opt out.
