Cornelia holds second public hearing on property tax relief bill

Cornelia Mayor John Borrow discusses HB 581 at a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 4 (Brian Wellmeier/Now Habersham)

The city of Cornelia held its second public hearing for HB 581 – a statewide floating homestead exemption that caps the annual increases in property values as a form of tax relief – on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Cornelia, which plans to opt-in as a participating city, will hold a third hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 at City Hall.

HB 581 was approved by a majority of Habersham County voters last November, and if agreed upon by all seven cities and the county, the bill could 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.

If it moves forward, voters will later decide by referendum whether to approved a Floating Local Option Sales Tax – a 1 cent consumption tax that would go toward lower property taxes.

Peter Madruga of Habersham Education & Research asked commissioners what the bill would mean for citizens of Cornelia.

Cornelia Mayor John Borrow said that so far feedback from most cities indicate plans to opt-in. Under the bill, homestead-exempt properties would only rise to match the Consumer Price Index.

“We can’t advocate for sales tax, obviously,” City Manager Dee Anderson said. “…we’re looking at around a 4-4.5 decrease (in mills), if the sales tax (FLOST) were approved (by voters).”

“You can only use that money to lower residential property tax,” Anderson added.

Residents ask about HB 581 at a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 4 (Brian Wellmeier/Now Habersham)

The bill would not cap values on commercial or industrial properties.

So far, the Habersham County School System is the sole entity to announce plans to opt-out, which does not prevent the measure from moving forward.