While Clarkesville postponed a decision to amend its charter – specifically the formula by which residents are taxed – council will take a vote on the item next month.
“We made some amendments to it, and we couldn’t print it,” City Manager Keith Dickerson said after the meeting Monday. “(Our attorney) is going to make those amendments and get it changed.”
Council will take an official vote on the item in April.
Council members broached the topic during a work session late last year after a recent reexamination of the formula by which residents are taxed.
Property is assessed and taxed at 100% of its value in Clarkesville, whereas Habersham County and surrounding municipalities tax property at 40% of its value.
The amendment, if approved, would not change the amount residents pay in taxes. Instead, the purpose is to create a formula for taxation that’s more aligned with the rest of the county.
A fundamental change to the overall structure of the charter would require approval by a majority (as much as two-thirds) of Georgia’s legislative body. But Clarkesville’s charter contains a specific rule that enables council to make small changes to single line items.
“There’s a provision in the code called the Home Rule, which allows the city to change the charter under certain circumstances,” Clarkesville City Attorney Matt Skilling said. “Under these circumstances – as long as a proposed ordinance is published and notice is provided – over a period of 60 days we can have two consecutive meetings where the ordinance is passed.”
Though the millage rate itself would increase if such a change were made, the amount of taxes paid by residents would remain unaffected. In other words, since property would then be taxed at 40% of its value (instead of 100%), a higher millage rate figure would not mean higher tax bills.
A mill is equal to $1 per $1,000 in taxable property value, and while property is currently assessed and taxed at 100 percent of its value in Clarkesville, that could change next month.
Last year, Clarkesville Councilman Brad Coppedge said he’s in favor of amending that percentage.
“It’s a numbers game,” Coppedge said. “It comes to the same number. It’s just, when people see it (at 100%), there’s an immediate perception that people think they’re getting charged more…and it was a request to bring us in alignment with the other municipalities.”
City officials noted that House Bill 581 – a statewide floating homestead exemption that caps the annual increases in property values – played a major role in the decision to create assessment uniformity between Clarkesville, the county and surrounding municipalities.
