Liberty County ponders tax proposals

Voters in Liberty County will vote on four tax-related ballot measures that not everyone fully understands. It’s a common problem: lawmakers pass a proposal that’s dense with legalese but that requires the vote of everyday people to become law. 

The proposed changes address ways that voters can choose to tax homes, personal property, and everyday purchases, as well as whether to give people and corporations that want to appeal a Georgia Department of Revenue tax ruling the chance to have a state appeals judge hear their case.

At the statewide level, these include 2 proposed amendments to the Georgia Constitution:

• Amendment 1 (HR 1022) would allow a specific sales tax to pay for a property tax cut. 
• Amendment 2 (HR 598) would move tax appeal cases to the State Court of Appeals; right now, those appeals go to a Fulton County court. 

Statewide referendum A (HB 808), if passed, would increase the ad valorem (sales) tax deduction to $20,000. But it would not extend that tax break to motor vehicles, trailers, or mobile homes. 

And in Liberty County, a special election proposes a 1% Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) dedicated to improving transportation. It is not an additional sales tax, but would start when the existing tax expires, should voters decide in favor of it.

How these would work

Amendment 1 would allow — but not require — local governments and school systems to “opt out” of limiting a homestead’s assessed value. In other words, a city’s voters could choose whether or not to allow sales tax to cut part of their property taxes.

Money from sales tax would be used to offset the millage rate, which would lower property taxes. It also could soften the blow of the 12 mil rate that Walthourville’s city council recently voted to adopt.

If passed, Amendment 1 also would let newly-formed political subdivisions choose whether or not to limit a homestead’s assessed value.

A homestead is an owner-occupied home that is a person’s primary residence. All Liberty County homeowners can claim county homestead exemption for their primary residence.

Amendment 2 would move tax case appeals from the Superior Court of Fulton County to the Georgia Court of Appeals. Tax cases are first heard by the Georgia Tax Tribunal, which is part of the state Office of State Administrative Hearings. 

Referendum A is a proposal to allow a bigger ad valorem tax break on personal property up to $20,000.

However, it does not apply to motor vehicles, trailers, or mobile homes — the kinds of big-ticket items most voters own. 

Special Election: Liberty County TSPLOST

The Liberty County special election asks voters whether or not to create a new 1% transportation special local option sales tax, or TSPLOST. County officials expect this 1% sales tax to bring in $76 million over 6 years. The existing TSPLOST expires in November 2025; the new one would not start until the old one ends. That means the tax would stay the same. (Overall, Liberty County sales tax is 4% and Georgia sales tax is 4%.)

What you would get

Anyone who spends money in Liberty County would pay the tax, which means people from outside the county would help fund local bike paths; road milling, patching, widening, and improvements; right of way acquisitions (such as those needed for the Hinesville truck bypass); utility relocation; and drainage improvements. The money cannot go to any other purpose.

To get that work done, Liberty County would issue $33 million and the City of Hinesville would issue $31 million in general obligation debt. That’s basically a credit line to start those projects until the tax money comes in. 

Slideshow: Some items on the county’s list

The county and Hinesville would split the revenues, with smaller cities getting their money from the county, as they do now, for local improvements. City and town councils would decide which local roads need fixing.

Hinesville, which is taking over Liberty Transit at the end of November, would keep its share.

Slideshow: Some other areas in need

You can monitor monthly TSPLOST reports, which show how much money the tax brought in, how those funds are being spent on specific projects, and how countywide funding is allocated to municipalities and commission districts, on the county’s website.

Williams decries “misinformation”

At a town hall meeting at the Liberty County Performing Arts Center last Wednesday, State Rep. Al Williams decried what he called “misinformation” on social media about Amendment 1 only benefiting rich people in suburbs north of Atlanta.

“The gentleman that really created the text, a colleague of mine—still going to be my friend—but he voted for (House Bill) 581 in the legislature,” Williams said. “And then tries to explain why other people should vote no. Only in the legislature does stuff like that happen. Believe me, it’s a dangerous time.“ He added that the bill passed in the House with only 2 “no” votes.

Attorney Jimmy McDonald, who lobbies for the Liberty County Development Authority, the Board of Commissioners, and the City of Hinesville at the Gold Dome, said he’s drafted about 1500 pieces of legislation in the past 20 years, “and it’s not very often those 20 years where I’ve seen a piece of legislation whose sole goal is to try to make our lives, day-to-day lives, cheaper. So let me ask y’all, how long has it been since you felt like anything got cheaper?”

McDonald explained, “Almost all your property taxes and everything that’s levied has to come from the (Georgia) Constitution, that one document that’s really, really hard to change.” The General Assembly can’t change taxes unless the voters agree.

To do that, he said, the legislature passes one bill and the citizens vote on a companion bill. In this case, the legislature passed House Bill 581, a law which details how the tax will work, and voters will decide on House Resolution 1022, which approves or rejects putting HB 581 into effect.

If Amendment 1 passes, McDonald said, voters in each municipality that takes part would have to vote again on whether or not to approve the millage rate offset in their city. The law would go into effect January 1, if passed, but the tax wouldn’t be collected until the following year. And that money is reserved only for property tax relief.

“Your property tax right now comes out of your pocket and anybody who lives in Liberty County,” McDonald said, adding that about 100,000 people “come through Hinesville every day, and most of them aren’t from here. But when they come and they eat here, or they buy something here, or they go to Walmart, what this would do now is spread the property tax obligation instead of right out of your own pocket, only the property owner here, a large percentage of this now is going to be spread out to whoever’s coming into and using our property here.”

Commission Chair Donald Lovett called Amendment 1 “a perfect opportunity to lower property taxes…some things have to line up for it to work right, but it’s a perfect opportunity.” 

Hinesville Mayor Karl Riles said his CFO had “conservatively” estimated the city could drop its millage rate by “at least 4 mils” if Amendment 1 passes, due to the city’s retail and commercial growth drawing more money from non-residents passing through.

Adding that “the end game here is to lower property taxes,” Riles said, “Is your bubble gum going to cost a penny more? It is, but is the value of that property tax on your house going to go down $500? Yeah.”

Walthourville Mayor Sarah B. Hayes said, “Some people received a phone call saying that on the ballot will be House Bill 581. House Bill 581 wasn’t on the ballot. People looked at it and they were expecting to see it. It was (House Bill) 808. Can you explain, please?”

Williams replied, “That’s the resolution we’re voting on. (House Bill) 581 is what is known as the ‘enabling legislation’ that puts teeth into it. You’re voting on the constitutional amendment.” 

HB 808 is about Referendum A, the $20,000 personal property tax exemption. At the town hall meeting, Williams said Referendum A would mainly benefit people who can afford big-ticket items like yachts. 

“I don’t have a $2 million yacht,” Williams told the crowd. “But somebody has a $2 million yacht. If my little ol’ bit of tangible property drops, I’m not mad, because you got a good piece on your big. That’s called American democracy capitalism. We gotta stop thinking that if it’s good for the rich, it’s bad for us. Ain’t necessarily so.”

On Amendment 2, Williams said tax court is highly specialized and applies mainly to businesses: “95% of all citizens will never see tax court. Trust me on that.”

Type of Story: Explainer

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