Jeff Hood touched a fresh wound when he asked the first question at the Oconee County Board of Commissioners Town Hall meeting last week.
Hood wanted to know how the county is going to “make up the missing revenue” if the state prohibits local governments from collecting property taxes on homesteaded property, as the Republican Party House leadership has proposed.
Hood writes a weekly report for The Oconee Enterprise on activities in the state legislature, and he also is on the Oconee County Republican Party Executive Committee as Vice Chair of Policy Initiatives.
Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said he definitely is paying attention, that legislation as written would have big impact on Oconee County and Oconee County Schools, and that he is “actively involved in trying to point out the impact” to the county’s representatives in Atlanta.
One of Oconee County’s two representatives in the House, recently elected Democrat Eric Gisler, was prominent in the audience, and he responded good-naturedly to a pointed jab from Commissioner Chuck Horton.
The legislation to eliminate the homestead property tax is fully a Republican product. Democrat Gisler represents House District 121.
Two of the three declared Republican candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in the 120th House District next year also were sitting at the back of the Commission Chamber during the Town Hall meeting. Current Republican Rep. Houston Gaines is stepping down to run for Congress.
Commission Chair Daniell used the Town Hall meeting to outline the county’s plans for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum on the May 19 ballot. He also responded to questions on SR 316 construction, data centers, extending the county’s multi-use trails plan, and decommissioning of the county’s Land Application System (LAS) site on Rocky Branch Road.
Property Tax Proposal And Question
When Daniell finished his introductory comments on Feb. 10 and asked for questions from the audience of about 25 people, Hood stepped to the microphone and said he wanted to talk about what is going on in the legislature.
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| Hood 2/10/2026 |
In his last two-front page columns in the Enterprise, on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, Hood has written about tax proposals being discussed by Republicans in the Senate and in the House in Atlanta.
“They're all saying, we're eliminating this, eliminating that, state income tax, property tax,” Hood said, “but we know that it costs money to pay our school teachers, and have law enforcement.”
“I'm seeing all the pom-poms on one end, but I'm not seeing the other end,” Hood said. “Nobody's really talking much about how the county's going to make up for that missing revenue if they truly eliminate homestead property tax.”
“So I would love to hear what any of you think about what's brewing at the Capitol,” he said.
Daniell Responds
Commission Chair Daniell said that the Association County Commissioners of Georgia is “actively lobbying and working with the author of the bill.”
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| Daniell 2/10/2026 |
The first sponsor is Rep. Shaw Blackmon, from Bonaire, but the second sponsor is House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican from Newington, and the third sponsor is Chuck Efstration, of Mulberry, the Republican Majority Leader. All six listed sponsors are Republicans.
Daniell, as well as the other four county commissioners and all five members of the Oconee County Board of Education are Republicans.
“I'm thinking everybody's starting to see how complicated this issue is,” Daniell added.
“Right now, the proposal shows that all homesteaded property will be exempt from property tax by 2032,” Daniell said. “And then, basically, counties get three pennies (in sales tax). And school systems will get two pennies, but you don't get to go above the 9 percent that's out there now,” he said.
The sales tax in the county at present is eight cents on the dollar, with the state getting four cents, the county getting three, and Oconee County Schools getting one cent on the dollar.
“So you'd have to reallocate some of your current pennies that you're collecting if that goes through in its current form,” Daniell said. “There are things they're talking about called assessments, for like fire safety and EMS service and that type of stuff.”
“We don't know how any of that's going to look,” Daniell said. “There's going to be a lot of changes before it final.”
“We are actively involved in trying to point out the impact to Oconee County if these things go through,” he said. “Right now, we're working with the Tax Commissioner and the Property Appraisal office to get our numbers together so we can provide our representatives with, alright, here's the real dollars for Oconee County and what that's going to look like.”
Horton Responds
“Since we have the representative here,” Commissioner Chuck Horton said. “Was there somewhere in the documents that you all would take up direct funding for the Sheriff's departments?”
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| Horton 2/10/1016 |
Financing of the Sheriff’s Office in counties in the state comes from county government.
“Not that I’ve seen,” Gisler said, smiling.
“You hadn't seen that one?” Horton asked. “You need to go back and look. It's probably somewhere far back.”
Horton then acknowledged that he knows this is not part of the proposed law. “I’m just joking,” he said.
“For the state legislature to entertain these things without looking at what it actually is going to do to us,” Horton said, stopping his sentence.
The Sheriff’s “got to run that operation, and that's the big one,” Horton said, referring to the size of public safety in the county budget. “And they run a jail. They've got to have that fleet, because you want the deputies to get where they need to be. We want the deputies in the schools. And I don't hear anything about how that's going to be dealt with.”
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| Gisler, Center, with Paton And Kendrick (Back Row) 2/10/2026 |
“You remember,” Horton said, looking to Gisler, “I told you this. We are not safe when they're in session. No man, woman, or child is safe in the state of Georgia when those folks are in session. Because they'll do this stuff.”
Horton said the county has reduced its millage rate from 8.48 when he came onto the Board more than 17 years ago to its current 4.184 “and we're going to get smashed. At the end of the day, kicked to the curb. And they'll all take a picture.”
“Just stay out of the picture,” Horton said, pointing to Gisler, “because I’ll blame you.”
Chad Paton and KJ Allen Kendrick, competing in the Republican Primary in May for House District 120, which includes the Northeast Precinct in Oconee County, also were in the Town Hall meeting audience, though neither joined in the conversation.
The remaining three Oconee County precincts are in the 121st House District that Gisler represents.
Harden Responds
“There's going to be a lot of unintended consequences,” Commissioner Amrey Harden said when Horton had finished, “like there is with anything that happens, whether it's on the local, state, or federal level.”
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| Harden 2/10/2026 |
Harden said he understood the desire of seniors, especially, for property tax relief.
He said the county, unlike many others in the state, and unlike the Oconee County Board of Education, decided not to opt out of the voter approved floating homestead exemption designed to reduce the impact of increased assessments on taxes.
The county also initiated, and voters, approved a major expansion of the county’s local homestead exemption program, he noted, designed to provide relief for all citizens and special automatic exemptions for homeowners 65 years old and older.
“We tried to be diligent, to listen to the citizens as far as homestead property,” Harden said, “but all I can say is I'm just holding my breath that the unintended consequences of what's going on in Atlanta, we will be able to get through that.”
“I appreciate your bringing that up,” Harden told Hood.
“I'm on your side,” Hood responded. “I appreciate what you're doing, and I don't get it because I don't see how they're going to make up for it any other way.”
Impact Of Jimmy Daniell Road Construction
When no one else came forward, Hood continued with another topic.
Hood said he lives in the neighborhood off Julian Drive and “we're already seeing people cut through our neighborhood” because of the construction at the Jimmy Daniell Road interchange with SR 316.
“I'm not here to complain,” Hood said. “Kids...play in the street and there's no sidewalks...So if there's anything, or any suggestions you guys can make, that would be great.”
Hood also wanted to know if the planned Tall Oaks Drive extension will be a county road.
Daniell said GDOT likely will turn Tall Oaks Drive over to the county when it is completed.
Harden said he would like to see signs telling drivers that the road is closed and only open to local traffic and will explore if that is possible.
Master Plan For Trails
Michael Healy asked the commissioners to consider modifying the Master Trail Plan to include an extension down Simonton Bridge Road.
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| Healy 2/10/2026 |
“I love the Master Trail Plan,” Healy said. “I live off of Simonton Bridge Road and just love that new Thomas Farm Preserve and love the fact that the sidewalks are about to be extended to connect all the way to Wire Park.”
A path connecting Thomas Farm Preserve to the center of Watkinsville is under construction.
“Is it possible to continue that momentum and go as close to the county line as possible on Simonton Bridge Road?” he asked.
He also asked for an update on what he called the “rail-to-trail dream” for the unused rail line running through the middle of the county, linking Athens to Madison.
Daniell said the rail line is privately owned, and he knows there is a lot of interest in converting it to a trail. “So that conversation will continue on when it's appropriate,” he said.
“The trail plan that we have now will be the focus when funds come available,” Daniell said. “To change the focus from the existing trail master plan to another project is going to be difficult,” he said, because the current plan has been “vetted by the community and our citizen review process.”
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| Blume 2/10/2026 |
The plan is for a rectangular trail that will run along Hog Mountain Road to Rocky Branch Road, Mars Hill Road, and then Daniells Bridge Road back to Hog Mountain Road.
Only a part of the Hog Mountain Trail–from Butler’s Crossing to Wellbrook Road, is completed and open for use.
Phillip Blume followed Healy and also spoke in favor of extending a trail along Simonton Bridge Road.
Data Centers
“Has any technology company approached Oconee County about building a data center here?” Hood asked when he returned to the microphone a third time.
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| Cruz 2/10/2026 |
Daniell said emphatically: “No.”
Victoria Cruz followed and said “I did ask for your assurance, Chairman Daniell, that we would not have a data center here. You said we didn't have room.”
“What I told you, I believe,” Daniell said, “we don't have the water supply based on the technologies we're using now.”
“What I'm hearing now is that the push is to put these data centers in space,” she said, and making an investment in the types of data center being built today a mistake.
“Living in Oconee County,” Commissioner Harden responded, “I don't want to ruin it with a data center, or an ICE facility, for that matter.” Hood had facetiously suggested the county might seek an ICE Center to offset the property tax loss.
LAS Decommissioning
Tony Lathrup, the final speaker of the evening, asked for an explanation of the steps in decommissioning the LAS site on Rocky Branch Road. The site will be the future home of Dawson Park.
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| Lathrup 2/10/2026 |
Daniell said that “the sewer flow that's going to the LAS will have to be redirected.” “That's the major part of the cost of putting in new pump stations that will handle that volume, getting the pipes connected,” Daniell said. The cost is just less than $1 million.
“So that process is underway now,” Daniell said. “Once that's complete, then we'll start switching the flows, stop inbound and we'll decommission the ponds. So that'll be a draining down, removing the sludge.”
SPLOST 2027
At the beginning of the meeting, following an update on road projects in the county, Commission Chair Daniell said “we're going to chat a little bit about SPLOST 27. That will be on your May 19th ballot.”
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| Budgeted Amount And Amount Shown In Referendum (Click To Enlarge) |
Daniell said the county is expected to collect between $75 and $90 million from the tax, which will begin on Oct. 1 of 2027 and run through Sept. 30 of 2033, if voters approve the new tax on the May 19 ballot.
The new tax will be a continuation of the existing tax, Daniell said, “So with a vote yes, that'll keep our sales tax rate at 8 percent.”
Each of the county’s four incorporated areas will receive a portion of the tax, based on population, he said.
SPLOST revenues of $13.3 million will be used to pay off bonds issues for construction of Oconee Veterans Park and for the county administrative building, where the Town Hall meeting was held.
SPLOST 2027 also will fund water and sewer facilities, a continuation of the farmland protection program, emergency services facilities and equipment, and historic and scenic preservation projects.
“The total parks will get almost $31 million,” Daniell said, “which is 39 percent of our share of the SPLOST.”
“We're looking at doing a renewing and replacement, starting in our older parks,” Daniell said.
Herman C. Michael and Bogarts Sports Complex will get upgrades, he said.
“Our big project is Dawson Park,” Daniell said. “Right now we're in the engineering phase...We're hoping we can go to bid on the entire grading.”
The grading “will give us the bedrock for all the parking, the road infrastructure in, pad ready for all those future buildings, including the gym. Once we get the pricing for that, we can determine how many fields we can carpet.”
SPLOST also will include up to $6 million for a public safety radio system to be used by the Sheriff’s Office and the Volunteer Fire Department.
Finally, it includes up to $5.1 million for law enforcement vehicles.
Daniell said additional details on SPLOST are available on the county web site.
Video
The video below is of the entire Town Hall meeting held on Feb. 10 in the Commission Chamber of the County Administrative Building north of Watkinsville.
I recorded the video as a backup of the county’s recording, which is available on the county YouTube Channel.
The audio of my recording is generally better than the audio on the county recording, so I have used my video here.
Daniell discussed transportation projects and SPLOST at the beginning of the meeting, and Hood asked his first question at 10:30 in the video.
Hood returned to the microphone at 18:45 in the video.
Healy began speaking at 23:49 in the video and was followed by Blume at 32:53.
Hood returned to the microphone at 36:09.
Cruz began her comments at 36:59.
Lathrup started speaking at 45:33
Commissioner Horton returned to a discussion of SPLOST at 47:57 in the video.
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