I found the “tax” portion of the article by Dave Williams titled “New laws will affect elections, taxes, health care” ( The Eatonton Messenger, Jan. 2, 2025) to be somewhat misleading.
First, the new tax provision, as provided in House Bill 581, creates a statewide “floating” or “base year” Homestead exemption, which applies only to full-time residents and not to all residential properties.
Second, Putnam County, the City of Eatonton, and the Board of Education have had a local base year Homestead exemption since 2004. The statewide exemption would reset the base year to 2024. Most full-time residents already have a base year set prior to 2024 and have acquired a significant exemption. Does it make financial sense to reset your base year to 2024? Third, if one or more of the governing boards elects to have both the local and statewide exemptions, the tax assessor is required to “keep two sets of books” and grant the property owner whichever exemption offers the greatest benefit. Would this be an additional cost to taxpayers?
Finally, the “opt out” process, including publishing an “Intent to Opt Out” notice one week before holding three public hearings and then passing a resolution to opt out, must be completed before March 1, 2025. The Board of Education has already started this process, and the city and county will be discussing the issue at their meetings on Jan. 20and Jan. 21, respectively. Time is short.
Steve Hersey Putnam County District Three Commissioner