Cagle Presents HB 581 Calculations That Differ From School Board’s

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The Dade County Board of Education’s second hearing in the process of opting out of the HB 581 property tax exemption was held on Jan. 16 at 11:30 a.m. A handful of citizens attended, including Dade County commissioners Bob Woods and Dr. William Pullen Jr., and citizen Leisa Cagle who spoke at the first hearing.

Josh Ingle (superintendent) covered much of the information that has already been covered. He added that legislators have been in talks about allowing school systems with millage rates below 14.000 to qualify for equalization funding.

Later in the meeting, he also noted that a representative from Rome (Senator Chuck Hufstetler) is working on legislation that would remove the HB 581 opt out option.

Jennifer Hartline (Sand Mountain representative) clarified that the existing homestead exemption freezes property values, but with the new floating exemption, property values would increase each year with inflation.

Ingle noted that although it’s been said that the decision to opt out or stay in would be in effect for 50 years, there is no mention of 50 years in the 27 pages of the bill. Quick searches of the 27 pages show no mention of 50 years or any other time limit. It’s a one-time decision, or as Ingle said, “You got one shot to opt in or opt out.”

As he’s said before, Ingle noted that the lost revenue would lead to an increased millage rate. He said, “Exemptions are basically a tax shift.”

Steve Forester (Lookout Mountain representative) noted that he is concerned about the timeline. HB 581 was voted on in November 2024, and the opt out process must be completed by March 1, 2025. “Why the rushed timeline? If this is not detrimental in any way, if it is beneficial, then why not let it stay in place for a year or two to see how it’s going to affect taxpayers, how it’s going to affect school districts, and then come back with the option to opt out?”

Hartline explained her opinion that there are many unknowns with the nature of the bill and the state-controlled inflation rate. “Who’s to say that you agree to it and those changes down the line are not beneficial? At this point, it’s a gamble. At least with our local exemption, we know what we have and what we can help control.”

During Public Input, Cagle spoke again. Since the last hearing, she’s spent more time in the tax assessor’s office with Paula Duvall (chief tax assessor) and talked with Loran Grasham (Dade County Schools business services director). She gave the board members a handout with calculations that differ from the ones Ingle presented.

Cagle said that the problem with the school board’s spreadsheet is that it includes all properties, so she and Duvall worked together to take out commercial, industrial, forest land, and utilities before calculating the lost revenue.

She also noted that only 40 percent of the value is taxable, so that must be taken into account. (After Cagle finished speaking, Grasham said that the school board’s numbers do take this into account.)

Duvall recommended using only 85 percent of the residential properties to account for rentals and 50 percent of agriculture properties to account for those that are not homestead properties. Duvall believes these are conservative estimates.

Cagle also said, “The 2024 numbers include new properties, so when calculating the increase from year to year, you really need to remove all new properties added.”

In the end, Duvall and Cagle concluded that the school system would have lost about $382,000 in 2024 if the new exemption had been in place—less than half of the school board’s projected $793,387.45 loss in 2024.

Cagle said, “I know that the cost of this is a key concern for you of whether to opt in or out…I hope that you would base your decision on good numbers.”

Addressing the thought that many voters do not fully understand what they voted for, Cagle said, “I would hope that you would get out and ask them. If they voted for this homestead exemption, ask them what did they intend?…Should five people in Dade County decide when 72 percent of the people voted for this homestead exemption?”

Ingle briefly responded, noting that the school board’s numbers also came from Duvall.

Woods also spoke briefly, letting the board know that citizens have asked him about the school board’s decision about HB 581. Woods simply let the board know that he did not (and could not) speak on behalf of the school board or represent the board’s opinions and decision.

The third and final hearing will be Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. On Jan. 27 at 4:30 p.m. (just before the regular monthly meeting), the board will vote on the resolution to opt out.