On the ballot in November, there were two homestead exemptions Hall County voters were able to decide on — a local and state bill.
Hall County is now looking to opt-out of the statewide homestead exemption, or HB581.
That statewide exemption would set the assessed value to their 2024 valuations and then goes up by the consumer price index.
The most recent average annual increase was 2.9-percent.
To do so, the county has to give three public notices and three public hearings.
The first public hearing was on Thursday.
“We would have to keep track of both of these exemptions under two different base years,” Hall County Administrator Zach Propes said. “Which is going to be administratively burdensome for the county.”
The local exemption, or HB1268, will set assessed values to their 2023 valuations and then go up by the new assessed value capped at a 3-percent annual increase.
If both exemptions were in place, the taxpayer would receive the most beneficial exemption in a given year. Due to the two having different base years, Propes said that the cost for the county would increase due to more administrative responsibility.
“Most of our homestead properties we’d be going back to 2023 anyway,” Propes said. “Not all parcels, but most of them.”
Hall County Commissioner for District 2 Billy Powell asked how much staff would have to be added if both were in place. Propes did not give a definite answer but said the tax commissioner's office has talked about extra positions if both were in place.
District 3 Commissioner Gregg Poole also floated the idea of the confusion leading to wrong exemptions being given, which would lead to more paperwork and administrative burden.
The next public hearing is at the Hall County Board of Commissioners work session on Feb. 24 with the third and final hearing at the voting meeting on Feb. 27.
