The Mt. Airy Town Council held its third and final public hearing on Wednesday for HB 581. No citizens spoke during the public hearing. After the council adjourned, they were asked were they opting in? The council responded that they were in fact opting in, providing an opportunity for homestead eligible properties valuation increases to be capped at the inflationary rate.
Opting in uncertainty
At last month’s joint city meeting in Cornelia, all of the cities committed to opting in to HB 581 with the exception of Tallulah Falls. They were the only hold out during the meeting. Mayor Mike Early explained that the Rabun County cities had yet made such a commitment and was waiting to see if those cities opted out of the bill.
With the uncertainty of Tallulah Falls, many of the cities in Habersham County opted to move forward with holding the three required public hearings in the event a city decided to opt out. If any city opted out of HB 581, the county and the cities would not be eligible to seek a flexible local option sales tax (FLOST).
The cities of Baldwin and Alto did not hold any public hearings. By virtue of the bill, those cities were automatically opted in.
Last week, Tallulah Falls made it official that they would in fact be opting in, paving the way for Habersham County to move a step closer with a referendum for FLOST some time in the future.
Remaining public hearings
Upon hearing the news that Tallulah Falls was opting in, the city of Clarkesville canceled their third and final public hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19. According to Clarkesville City Clerk Julie Poole, Clarkesville will be opting in.
Two cities are still scheduled to hold public hearings. Demorest will be holding two public hearings on Thursday, Feb. 20. The times for those hearings are at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. Cornelia will hold their third and final hearing on Thursday, February 27, at 5 p.m.
Both cities have indicated that they will be opting in.
Opting back in
The only taxing authority in Habersham County that has officially opted out of HB 581 is the school board. However, should the Board of Education decide to change their mind, the opportunity still exists.
The original HB 581 set a deadline for opting out by March 1 after holding three public hearings.
According to District 10 State Representative Victor Anderson (R- Cornelia), the House of Representatives voted a bill out on Tuesday, February 18, that extends the deadline for 30 days. “The bill allows those who have opted out to opt back in if they do it before March 31st of this year,” Anderson said. He said that the bill is in the Senate now and they should pass it as is.
