President's Message - February 10, 2025

February 10, 2025 

From the President:   

Just a few updates this week

Homestead Exemption

As mentioned in the newsletter last week, the City of Savannah is holding three hearings seeking public comment on HB581 which created a Floating Homestead Exemption.  Board members have been receiving questions from you about HB581 and what it means to taxpayers.  The first hearing was held last week, and I attended hoping to learn more about the difference between HB581 and our current Stephens-Day Homestead Exemption.  Sadly, after the hearing, I had more questions than answers.  It is a confusing law.

City Manager Jay Melder gave the Council a presentation describing the differences between the two different laws.  You can view the presentation here.  (This webpage also has links describing HB581 as well as answers to questions raised at the hearing on February 4th.) 

HB581 requires city and county governments, as well as local school boards, to either opt in or opt out of the requirements in the law.  Even though Savannah already has a homestead exemption law it can still opt-in to HB581.  By opting-in the homeowner will get the benefit of the law that is best for them.  So, if HB581 has a lower tax amount you will receive that benefit.  Should Stephens-Day be lower, you would receive that tax bill.  As mentioned last week, the city is planning on opting out of HB581 and continuing with the benefits of Stephens Day.  With this approach, your homestead exemption doesn’t change.  All other benefits within the law will still apply.

The City’s rationale for opting out is to eliminate the requirement for the Board of Assessors to determine your tax bill under both laws.  This will require additional costs for software and employees.  There are also concerns that by having two different assessments, taxpayers may get confused about the two amounts.

If you would like additional information about these two laws, you can view a presentation from the Georgia Municipal Association here.  

After reviewing information from different sources and attending the council hearing, it is my belief that it makes no difference if the city stays in or opts out of HB581.  Homeowners will get the benefit either way. 

There are two additional hearings this Thursday at 2 pm and 6 pm for those of you interested in learning more about the issue.

Public Art

As mentioned previously, the city is creating a plan for public art.  If you are interested in participating in or learning more about this plan you can find additional information here.  You will also find a survey seeking residents' input into public art at this link.  We encourage you to complete this survey and learn more about this effort.  There are concerns that public art is not conducive to a Landmark Historic Community. 

Additionally, we believe adding public art would attract additional tourists, which is something we would not like.  There is a place for public art, but a historic area may not be the right location.

There is a Public Art community meeting for District 2 tomorrow (Tuesday) evening from 5:30 – 7:00p at the Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery St and Oglethorpe St.

Hotel Development

There is a hearing this Wednesday, February 12 at 1 pm concerning the planned development of a hotel at 20-24 E Oglethorpe St (Seabolt Realty building).  The DNA intends to oppose this 6-story building as we believe that its planned height is not compatible with the surrounding buildings. It’s frustrating that the city ordinance does not allow the Historic District Board of Review to consider the end use of any planned development.  Therefore, we cannot argue against its use as another hotel. If you agree with the issue of its height (the only issue we can address), please send your comments to Jonathon Mellon at mellonj@thempc.org before the end of the day on Tuesday.

Monthly Meeting

A reminder that our next monthly meeting is scheduled for next week on February 18th.  Our topic for this meeting is Tourism.  We are two years into our effort to better balance tours and residential quality of life.  The DNA Chair on Tourism, Marysue McCarthy along with DNA member Nancy Radke will provide an update on our efforts.

We will again be meeting at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St.  Social begins at 5:30 and the meeting begins at 6 pm.

David McDonald

President

Downtown Neighborhood Association Savannah, GA Inc.