Legislators talk property taxes, debt, balanced budget
♦ Rome Rotary and the Rome Floyd Chamber host local delegation members.
On top of an income tax rebate because of a massive revenue surplus at the state level, eligible Georgians can also expect a large rebate on their property taxes this year.
During a meeting of local lawmakers with Rome Rotary Club and Rome Floyd Chamber members, state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-rome, briefly outlined the program.
The Property Tax Relief Grant essentially refunds $950 million in property taxes to homestead owners in the amended Fiscal Year 2023 budget, with a $6 billion state revenue surplus.
“Even though the state doesn’t collect a penny of property taxes, that will be taken off your property tax bill,” said Hufstetler, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.
That’s going to be handy this year for property owners who have been granted the homestead exemption. Even with sometimes drastic increases in property values, and therefore property tax assessments, that state refund will balance out the sticker shock, Floyd County Tax Commissioner Kevin Payne said.
However, next year the valued assessment of a property will likely remain the same, but the state refund may not be there.
“A lot of folks aren’t going to see an increase (in their bill) this year; next year is going to be the problem,” Payne said.
The grant is equal to $18,000 multiplied by the millage rate, which averages out to between $500 and $600 in the county and around $650 in the city. That amount will come directly off your bill, Payne said.
DEBT AND A BALANCED BUDGET
Rome and Floyd County legislators took time to briefly review the 2023 legislative session during the meeting, but all weighed in on the debt ceiling debate continuing in Congress.
“I think the federal deficit is the biggest threat to our economy in our country right now if it goes on at the pace it is,” Hufstetler said. “We’re spending way too much money that could be used on other things.”
Unlike Congress, the Georgia legislature is constitutionally mandated to pass a balanced budget each year, Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-armuchee, pointed out.
“We not only have one budget to deal with, we actually have two budgets to deal with because we work on a fiscal year of July 1,” he said. “So one of our first responsibilities coming back is to true up the budget from the previous year, as well as create the new budget from the coming year based on the revenue estimate that the governor gives to us.”
Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-rome, built on comments from her two colleagues and spoke of her concerns regarding the stress placed on Georgians because of inflation.
“We really worked on things this year that impact your wallet,” Dempsey said, pointing to bills before the legislature to incentivize workforce housing as well as entering key fields — especially healthcare.