During their first meeting of 2020, members of the Gilmer County Board of Assessors discussed what could follow an as-of-yet unreceived legal opinion regarding whether or not unattached structures should be covered by a local homestead exemption for property owners over age 65 that provides a break from county school taxes.
An assessors office policy adopted in 2018, which incorporates wording from Georgia House Bill 1383, states that unattached structures will be assessed apart from the home and land included in the over-65 exemption, thus making them eligible for taxation.
More than a dozen property owners who receive the over-65 exemption attended a board meeting last June to voice their disapproval of the policy revisions. At the following month’s meeting, board members opted to reverse the decision and leave unattached structures included in the exemption, while also seeking a definitive legal opinion from the state attorney general.
“We’ve (already) got two legal opinions, one from legislative counsel and one from ACCG (Association County Commissioners of Georgia). They’re 180 degrees out of sync with one another,” said board member Tom Porter at the Jan. 16 meeting. “I think we left it as we would reverse our position for the 2019 tax year and that’s where it stands, but where does that take us for the 2020 tax year? As the months go by, there’s a continuing probability that it will change or not. I don’t know where we stand. It may be up to the time that we issue the notices before we have an answer.”
County attorney David Clark said a stack of documentation concerning the local exemption and its history has been submitted to the state attorney general’s office and a request has been made to have an official opinion received by the end of March.
“Here’s the only problem I see,” Clark told board members Gary Engel, Jerry Davis, John Williamson, Bill Logan and Porter. “Y’all have asked for this opinion from the attorney general, which is the highest recognized official as far as the interpretation of the law in Georgia is concerned. If that opinion points you in one direction and you do completely the opposite, remember (you) have all taken an oath to not only abide by the federal constitution, but also the state constitution.”
While discussing the over-65 exemption, which was voted in locally, several board members seemed to support leaving it unchanged.
“We at the local level might want to respond as a lot of the citizens seem to want and keep it the way it’s been all these years,” said Williamson.
“If we’re going to err, my position would be to err on the side of the taxpayers. If I have a garage that’s attached to my house, I get the tax credit already. Just because it’s not attached to the house, it seems like I’m not being treated equal,” offered Engel.
Clark advised that it’s “premature to formulate a side you want to fall on at this point in time.”
“You didn’t take a side or position other than the fact that you reversed it in light of the confusion,” he added. “Wait on that opinion and see if it points you anywhere. If it doesn’t point you in a direction or give you any guidance, you can go in the manner you feel comfortable.”
Last July, Chief Appraiser Theresa Gooch said the initial over-65 exemption policy revisions resulted in 2,400 accounts being changed due to unattached structures on the properties.
Until a final decision is made, the exemption stands unchanged with unattached structures still included. That, however, could change again by the time assessment notices go out later this year.
“There’s probably more than two ways that this issue has been implemented in 157 counties. There may be a half-dozen different ways. We’ve got two legal opinions. If we get a firm and final legal opinion, we’ll follow it,” noted Porter.
New board officers elected
Board members elected both a new chairman and vice chairman after adopting the Jan. 16 meeting agenda.
Engel was voted in as board chairman and Bill Logan was voted in as vice chairman. The chairman position had previously been held by Porter and the vice chairman position by Davis.