Decatur School Board to discuss senior homestead tax exemption, mid-year budget amendment
Elizabeth Wilson School Support Center, City Schools of Decatur. Photo by Dean Hesse.
This story has been updated.
Decatur, GA — The City Schools of Decatur School Board will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. for a regular meeting. The meeting will be held in person at the Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Ave., and via Zoom.
The school board will also meet for an executive session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss legal and personnel matters. Executive sessions are not open to the public.
The school board will consider approving the updated senior tax exemption during the regular meeting. The current exemption expires in December 2023 and must be approved by the Georgia General Assembly and voters next year.
Here are the meeting access instructions:
The board will continue the practice of streaming meetings via Zoom and available at the following link.
Join the Board Meeting: https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95614159391
To join by phone dial 1-646-558-8656 or +1-301-715-8592
The webinar ID is 956 1415 9391.
To view the meeting agenda, click here.
To make a public comment, in-person attendees can register online before the meeting or upon arrival by scanning a QR Code on the Board Room entrance. Registration will ensure that the district collects information necessary to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing. Please ensure the name you enter on the form matches the name you use(d) to sign-up. If the names do not match, it will not be possible for you to be recognized to participate in public comment. To sign up for public comment, click here.
CSD has enacted several types of homestead tax exemptions over the years to reduce the burden of school taxes for senior homeowners in Decatur.
The current exemptions for school taxes are:
– S-6 exemption: homeowners age 70 and above are eligible for a reduction of $200,000 of assessed home value ($400,000 appraised value) without an income cap.
– S-5 exemption: provides an exemption of $200,000 of assessed home value ($400,000 appraised value) for seniors aged 65-69 with a household federal adjusted gross income less than $53,000.
The school board is not considering making any changes to the S-6 exemption. Although the board is looking at increasing the dollar amount of the household adjusted income for seniors ages 65-69 from $53,000 to $62,000 for the S-5 exemption. The school board is also looking to maintain the exemption of $200,000 of assessed home value ($400,000 appraised value).
The school board is aiming to extend the senior homestead tax exemption for an additional five-year period. The exemption for CSD will have to be approved by the Georgia General Assembly and will be on the ballot in November 2023 as a referendum.
In other business, the school board will also discuss the mid-year budget amendment for the general fund.
“The budget amendment includes changes in staffing and increased operating expenditures for nursing,” the agenda packet states. “Other amendments include revenue revision to reflect an increase in earnings on investment.”
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