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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Clayton County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting - HB 581 Public Hearing - February 12, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Thursday, February 12, 2026

BodyClayton County, Georgia

SessionBoard of Commissioners

DateThursday, February 12, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:48:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:07

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:10

All right, it's great to see everyone here this afternoon.

0:12

Oh, no, it's morning.

0:14

I'm sorry.

0:14

Y'all, y'all know get y'all know Commissioner Hamburg gets me on that.

0:18

She always says if it's 5 o'clock is afternoon, so we 6 o'clock, we know it's even.

0:23

So let's say good morning, everyone.

0:26

All right.

0:26

All right.

0:27

I just uh the Clayton County Board of Commissioners uh special call board meeting for public hearing, HB 581.

0:34

Is this our second hearing is now called to order.

0:37

The date is February 18th, 2025, and the time is 11 o'clock a.m.

0:43

Um we will first before we will take um we will do our pledge of allegiance and then we will have a moment of silence after that.

0:50

Would you please stand for the pledge of allegiance to our flag?

0:55

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, individual with liberty and justice for all.

1:14

At this time we will have a moment of silence.

1:17

Um thank you, thank you.

1:32

Thank you.

1:35

All right.

1:35

At this time, I need a motion to adopt the agenda.

1:39

So move.

1:40

All right.

1:40

Can I get a second?

1:42

Second.

1:42

All right.

1:43

All in favor say aye.

1:44

Aye.

1:45

All opposed, any abstentions.

1:52

I hear from our CFO, Stacey Merritt.

1:58

Good morning, Madam Chair, Vice Chair, and Board of Commissioners.

2:03

Um, we are coming to you today to talk again about um House Bill 581.

2:08

And I'm gonna let our financial advisor Ed Wall come up and kind of talk about the origins and what it means, and then I'll kind of come up afterwards and discuss the impact.

2:16

Thank you.

2:20

Thank you very much.

2:22

Uh good morning, Commissioners.

2:23

How y'all doing?

2:24

Um House Bill 581 was a bill passed by the Georgia legislature the last week of the session in 2024.

2:32

Uh it was four separate bills, uh collapsed into one bill, 581, it's 27 pages long.

2:39

It's dense, it's hard to understand.

2:42

Uh folks all over the state uh been trying to figure out what it's like, um, what uh it means.

2:49

Um a lot of folks are still working on it, and uh there's different opinions uh all over the state about what it does.

2:56

I encourage GMA, the Georgia Municipal Association, the Association of County Commissioners, and the Georgia School Boards Association to all get together in a room and figure out what does 581 do and come up with a PowerPoint presentation for all the cities and the counties and the schools, and it took them October 3rd from April to get that done.

3:17

And there's a on there, each of them has got a website, it's got a 46-page joint uh presentation, and has a lot of details.

3:25

I synthesize it down to about a three-page memo, and um House Bill 581 does three things.

3:33

One is it creates a floating local option, uh floating uh homestead exemption tied to inflation.

3:43

The second thing is a floating local option sales tax that you can avail yourselves of if you stay in the floating homestead exemption.

3:52

And then the third thing is it simplifies in quotation marks how you go about levying the property taxes and the rollback rates.

3:59

And um you can see here I've listed the three things that it does is uh establishes a floating homestead exemption tied to inflation, the new floating local option sales tax, and simplifies the process for calculating the rollback rates.

4:15

The second bullet up at the top, 581 required a constitutional amendment.

4:21

It was put before the voters of the state of Georgia in November of 24, and it passed with 63% of the vote.

4:27

About three million voted in favor, and about a million eight voted no.

4:31

581 took effect on January 1, and everybody, 535 cities, 180 school systems, and 159 counties were automatically opted in to 581.

4:45

In order to opt out, you had to do it by March the first, and you'd have three public hearings.

4:52

Um the law was very specific as to what had to go in the ad and the local paper in order to have the three public hearings.

5:00

And the ad says that you intend to opt out.

5:03

City of Hampton, City of Jonesburg tends to opt out, and then you have the three public hearings.

5:08

One thing I want to tell you all as commissioners and the residents, no decision has been made as to whether to opt in or opt out.

5:16

The purpose of these public hearings is for me and Stacy to educate you all as commissioners about the bill, educate the citizens, and you all to hear from the citizens about 581.

5:28

And so it's real important that the ad makes it appear that you all have already made the decision, but no decision has been made yet.

5:37

One of the things that it was important to you all commissioners, and you asked me and Stacy to provide pros and cons, and that was one of the things that I thought that was good about the way y'all wanted us to handle the presentation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Property Tax█████████████████████████████████████████████59%

Economic Development████████10%

Public Safety█████7%

Budget Equity Analysis█████6%

Public Engagement████5%

Procedural███4%

Homelessness██3%

Voter Registration██2%

Transportation Safety█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Clayton County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting – Public Hearing on HB 581 (Second Hearing) – February 12, 2026

The Clayton County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting on February 12, 2026, to conduct the second public hearing regarding House Bill 581 (HB 581), a state law that automatically opted in all Georgia counties and municipalities to a floating homestead exemption tied to inflation. The board heard presentations from the county CFO Stacey Merritt, financial advisor Ed Wall, and Fire Chief Sweat outlining the bill's provisions, potential fiscal impacts, and pros and cons for the county. No vote was taken at this hearing; the board will decide after the third hearing whether to opt out by the March 1, 2026 deadline.

Public Comments & Testimony

A majority of the 20+ speakers expressed strong opposition to opting into HB 581, citing concerns over rising property taxes, fixed incomes, and lack of clear communication about the bill. Many elderly and retired residents stated they could not afford further increases and feared losing their homes.
Several speakers, including Darlene Johnson and Mickey Garber, advocated for opting out, arguing that local control is preferable to state-imposed caps and that the floating local option sales tax (FLOST) is an unreliable substitute. Johnson warned that the bill could lead to gentrification and that the county should not cede authority over homestead exemptions.
Other speakers, such as Orlando Gooding and Christy Thomas, expressed distrust of the board and state government, urging the county to prioritize services over new construction projects and to better communicate with residents via mailed notices.
A few speakers, like Donna Payton and Mary Alexander, directly asked about the impact on school taxes and the fire fund, but were reminded that questions would be answered after the hearing.
One speaker (Lamont Jackson) noted the absence of younger homeowners and called for more outreach to educate the community.

Discussion Items

Presentation on HB 581 – CFO Stacey Merritt introduced financial advisor Ed Wall, who detailed the three components of HB 581: a floating homestead exemption tied to inflation, a new optional floating local option sales tax (FLOST), and simplified rollback rate calculations. He explained that the county is automatically opted in and must hold three public hearings before deciding to opt out by March 1, 2026. He presented example tax savings for homes valued at $250,000, $500,000, and $750,000 under a 3% inflation cap.
County Financial Impact – CFO Merritt outlined budget goals and noted potential revenue losses: a projected $4 million annual shortfall in the general fund if HB 581 is retained, with reductions growing over time due to caps on assessed value growth. She emphasized that the county could raise millage rates to offset losses, but that would shift burdens to non-homestead properties.
Fire Fund Impact – Chief Sweat presented projections showing that the fire fund could lose $500,000 in FY2026, $1.04 million in FY2027, and $1.6 million in FY2028 if HB 581 is adopted. He explained that to absorb such cuts, the department would have to reduce services, potentially shutting down fire apparatus and ambulance units. He warned that reductions could jeopardize the county's ISO Class 1 rating, which affects insurance costs and economic development.
Board Questions – Commissioner Reeves asked clarifying questions about the fire fund millage rate (currently 4.146 mills, capped at 5.0 mills) and whether the board could raise it to offset losses. Chief Sweat confirmed that the board sets the rate but noted that the fire fund rate has been stagnant for years. Another commissioner clarified that the existing homestead exemption would remain in place regardless of the HB 581 decision.

Key Outcomes

No decision was made on whether to opt in or out of HB 581; the board will hold a third and final public hearing before the March 1, 2026 deadline.
The board directed that further information be shared with residents, including through mailed notices to ensure seniors and non-digitally-connected residents are informed.
The meeting was adjourned without an executive session.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. All right, it's great to see everyone here this afternoon. Oh, no, it's morning. I'm sorry. Y'all, y'all know get y'all know Commissioner Hamburg gets me on that. She always says if it's 5 o'clock is afternoon, so we 6 o'clock, we know it's even. So let's say good morning, everyone. All right. All right. I just uh the Clayton County Board of Commissioners uh special call board meeting for public hearing, HB 581. Is this our second hearing is now called to order. The date is February 18th, 2025, and the time is 11 o'clock a.m. Um we will first before we will take um we will do our pledge of allegiance and then we will have a moment of silence after that. Would you please stand for the pledge of allegiance to our flag? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, individual with liberty and justice for all. At this time we will have a moment of silence. Um thank you, thank you. Thank you. All right. At this time, I need a motion to adopt the agenda. So move. All right. Can I get a second? Second. All right. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, any abstentions. I hear from our CFO, Stacey Merritt. Good morning, Madam Chair, Vice Chair, and Board of Commissioners. Um, we are coming to you today to talk again about um House Bill 581. And I'm gonna let our financial advisor Ed Wall come up and kind of talk about the origins and what it means, and then I'll kind of come up afterwards and discuss the impact. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh good morning, Commissioners. How y'all doing? Um House Bill 581 was a bill passed by the Georgia legislature the last week of the session in 2024. Uh it was four separate bills, uh collapsed into one bill, 581, it's 27 pages long. It's dense, it's hard to understand. Uh folks all over the state uh been trying to figure out what it's like, um, what uh it means. Um a lot of folks are still working on it, and uh there's different opinions uh all over the state about what it does. I encourage GMA, the Georgia Municipal Association, the Association of County Commissioners, and the Georgia School Boards Association to all get together in a room and figure out what does 581 do and come up with a PowerPoint presentation for all the cities and the counties and the schools, and it took them October 3rd from April to get that done. And there's a on there, each of them has got a website, it's got a 46-page joint uh presentation, and has a lot of details. I synthesize it down to about a three-page memo, and um House Bill 581 does three things. One is it creates a floating local option, uh floating uh homestead exemption tied to inflation. The second thing is a floating local option sales tax that you can avail yourselves of if you stay in the floating homestead exemption. And then the third thing is it simplifies in quotation marks how you go about levying the property taxes and the rollback rates. And um you can see here I've listed the three things that it does is uh establishes a floating homestead exemption tied to inflation, the new floating local option sales tax, and simplifies the process for calculating the rollback rates. The second bullet up at the top, 581 required a constitutional amendment. It was put before the voters of the state of Georgia in November of 24, and it passed with 63% of the vote.

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