From the President:
There are several initiatives that the city is currently undertaking that we should all be aware of:
Homestead Exemption
In the November 2024 election a ballot measure concerning homestead exemptions was passed in Chatham County with 68% of the vote. According to the Savannah Morning News “HB 581 aims to relieve property tax burdens on Georgia homeowners through a floating homestead exemption. As a result, the act could limit annual property tax assessment increases to the inflation rate, which rose in Georgia to 1.9% in December 2024.” This initiative requires local governments to either opt-in or opt-out by March 1. You can read the article here. As stated in the article, the Savannah Chatham County Public School System will also be conducting public hearings concerning this new law. The article also shows a side-by-side comparison between the two different laws. You can read more about HB581 here.
The Savannah City Council will be holding three hearings to opt-out of HB 581, with the belief that Savannah and Chatham County is better served by the Stephens-Day Homestead Exemption law already in place. You can find the dates and times for these public hearings here.
We encourage everyone to judge for yourself which of these two homestead exemptions better serve our community and let your Alderman and the School Board know.
Savannah GPS Strategic Plan
The city is starting to develop a strategic plan to shape the future of our community. As part of this initiative, they are conducting an on-line survey to gather information from residents. We encourage you to complete the survey and add your comments on what you see as the best way forward. There will also be a public meeting over several days with the city seeking residents’ input. The dates are listed on the survey link above.
Public Art Master Plan
As we have mentioned in a past newsletter the city is seeking input from residents on the development of a Public Art Master Plan. For those of you interested there is a virtual meeting this Wednesday for our aldermanic district.
District 2 - sign up here
Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 11:30am-1:00pm
Monthly Meeting
With the cold weather finally leaving our city and returning to Alaska we are hoping to see each of you at our meeting tomorrow night. Reed Dulany, President and CEO of Dulany Industries, will be our presenter and discuss alternatives to the Talmadge Bridge plans. We will begin at 5:30 pm and meet at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St. If you have not yet RSVP’ed for the meeting the link is below.
David McDonald
President
Downtown Neighborhood Association Savannah, GA Inc.