The Oconee County Board of Education does not intend to join in a homestead exemption approved overwhelmingly by voters--statewide and in Oconee County--in November that would limit increases in the assessed value of property that is a homestead.
Taxing authorities in the state are allowed to opt out of what is referred to as a floating homestead exemption based on inflation designed to limit increases in the assessed value and tax of homestead property.
Oconee County Schools Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams briefed the Board of Education on the impact that participation in the expanded homestead exemption would have on Oconee County Schools at its final meeting of last year on Dec. 9, but the Board took no action at that meeting.
Michael Ransom, who was elected to Post 1 Board Chair on Nov. 5, said on Friday (Jan. 3) that he made the decision to opt out of the homestead exemption and instructed Superintendent Jason Branch and his staff to schedule the required three hearings on the opt-out decision.
Voters on Nov. 5 elected Ransom Board Chair and also approved a referendum giving the Board, rather than voters, the power to appoint its chair, and the Board on Dec. 9 approved a policy stating that the Board would select its chair at “the regular January board meeting,” which is scheduled this year for Jan. 13.
Oconee County Schools posted a legally required news release announcing the decision to opt out of the floating exemption on Thursday (Jan. 2), stating that hearings will be held on the Board’s decision at 6 p.m. on Jan. 23, 6 p.m. on Jan. 28, and 4 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the Instructional Support Center, 71 North Main Street in Watkinsville.
The Board must pass a resolution opting out of the exemption and file a copy with the Secretary of State by March 1.
Nature Of Exemption
The General Assembly last year put onto the November ballot a request for approval or disapproval of an amendment to the state Constitution to authorize the General Assembly “to provide by general law for a state-wide homestead exemption to limit increases in the assessed value of homesteads.”
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| Notice In News Release 1/2/2025 |
Across the state, 62.9 percent of the voters approved the amendment. In Oconee County, the percentage of voters approving was just higher at 64.3 percent.
The General Assembly also passed House Bill 581 to implement the change in homestead exemptions pending approval by voters. With passage of the amendment, House Bill 581 went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year.
House Bill 581 set up what is called a floating homestead exemption, so named because the value of the exemption increases to offset inflation.
If a homestead property has an increase in assessed value from one year to the next, the increase would be reduced for tax purposes to offset the effect of inflation.
The legislature tasked the Georgia Revenue Commissioner with selecting the inflation indicator.
Impact On Oconee County Schools
Adams told the Board at the Dec. 9 meeting that the floating homestead exemption “could significantly impact property taxes for the school district.”
“It may significantly reduce our property tax revenues,” Adams said, “and it reduces the flexibility to meet our local needs that we've already established.”
Adams said he went back to 2018 and calculated what impact the floating homestead exemption would have had if it been in effect those years.
The cumulative loss to Oconee County Schools would have been $13.9 million across seven years, he said, with the loss greater in the last three years, when inflation has been greatest.
Another change in the law also would negatively impact Oconee County Schools, he said.
As part of the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, School Systems have to offset or take a reduction in their state funding based on calculation of the revenue that five mills produces in property taxes.
That calculation will be based on the tax digest prior to the floating homestead exemption, Adams said. “I think that it's kind of a double dip if you will,” he added.
Finally, the bill changes the way tax bills are labeled.
“Your tax bill, it'll have another disclaimer saying what entity created the tax increase for not meeting the roll back millage rate,” Adams said. The Board of Education generally has not met the rollback rate.
News Release
The news release posted on the Oconee County Schools web site on Thursday afternoon said “The Oconee County Board of Education will hold three public hearings in January and February on opting out of House Bill 581.”
“House Bill 581 is the statewide adjusted base year ad valorem homestead exemption that became law on Jan. 1, 2025,” the news release continued.
“Opting out would allow Oconee County Schools to retain local control over matters that directly impact the system,” Ransom is quoted as saying in the news release. The release states that Ransom “was elected as Board Chair in November.”
“A one-size-fits-all structure limits options,” the quote from Ransom continues. "The Board of Education must be able to make decisions that consider the desired services of the community.”
Superintendent Branch is quoted in the news release as saying “Our priority is to ensure that Oconee County Schools may continue providing the highest level of education and services.”
The news release ends in saying “Dr. Branch further noted that 581 does not impact any existing exemptions for Oconee County residents.”
Ransom Explanation
I asked Ransom in an email message late on Jan. 2 when the Board made the decision to opt out of the exemption, since no vote had been taken on Dec. 9 and no other meeting of the Board had been announced since that date.
I also asked Ransom why the news releases referred to him as Board chair, since no election of chair by the Board had taken place.
New members Adam Hammond and Brock Toole have not yet been sworn in as members. Toole said in a telephone conversation on Jan. 3 that that swearing in is scheduled for the Jan. 13 meeting.
On the afternoon of Jan. 3, Ransom responded by email.
“Since I was elected to Post 1 in the November election, I will serve in the Chair capacity until the January 13 meeting, when the Chair, Vice Chair, and Legislative Liaison will be elected by the Board,” he wrote.
Board policy allows the chair to call special Board meetings, he wrote, “and I asked Dr. Branch to work with staff to determine dates and times for hearings that ensured the community had appropriate opportunities to participate.”
I responded to Ransom saying that his “answer only deals with your authority to call the meetings. But the news release, consistent with the requirement of HB 581, includes the message that the Board intends to opt out.”
“So I'm trying to understand when that decision was made and by whom?” I wrote. “I want to be clear. It is your position that you as chair made that decision and then asked Dr. Branch and his staff to set up the meetings?”
“That is correct,” Ransom responded. “After sitting through training related to HB 581 in December, I asked Dr. Branch to set up meetings.”
Other Governing Bodies
The Clarke County Board of Education also has decided to opt out of the floating homestead exemption and scheduled the three required hearings on that decision.
The Clarke County Board voted to approve those schedule hearings at its meeting on Dec. 12, video of that meeting indicates.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners as well as the councils of Bishop, Bogart, North High Shoals, and Watkinsville must also decide by March 1 if they want to opt out of the floating homestead exemption approved by the state legislators.
If all five of those governing bodies decide to join in the exemption, the county will be authorized, but not required, to add an additional 1 cent on the dollar sales tax for purchases in the county to offset the loss from the new homestead exemption.
That would bring the sales tax in the county to nine percent.
The Oconee County Board of Education, which at present is limited to a 1 percent Education Local Option Sales tax for capital projects, is not allowed to offset the loss of revenue from the floating homestead exemption through the addition of a new sales tax.
Adams told the Board in December that the floating homestead exemption would result in a loss of property tax revenue for Oconee County Schools.
That loss could be offset through a cut in spending or through an increase in the millage rate.
2 comments:
“Since I was elected to Post 1 in the November election, I will serve in the Chair capacity until the January 13 meeting, when the Chair, Vice Chair, and Legislative Liaison will be elected by the Board,” [Ransom] wrote.”
By what authority? The voters voted to have the board vote for a Chair. That has not happened.
I guess we now know this board will be the same as the last, which is to say there is essentially no board and Branch will continue to run his empire as he sees fit. And we will continue to pay for it.
Ian Taylor
Watkinsville
The Board had the data (and presumably the votes) back in early December to opt out, but chose to take no action. Are they suddenly worried that the new Bd members wouldn't go along?
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