Meriwether County Tax Commissioner (DeAnn Cruse): the county’s own printed Disabled Veterans row at up to $50,000 and the 24-year floating homestead the board kept over House Bill 581

The county's own amounts. The Tax Commissioner's own site, meriwethertax.com, prints its "MERIWETHER COUNTY EXEMPTIONS" list on the General Information page, and the veteran rows read: "The Disabled Veterans Homestead Exemption is available to certain disabled veterans in the amount up to $50,000 deducted from the 40% assessed value of the homestead property. This exemption applies to all ad valorem tax levies; however, it is restricted to certain types of very serious disabilities (that are service-connected disabilities) and proof of disability, either from the Veterans Administration or from a private physician in certain circumstances, which may be necessary." and "Surviving Spouse of Veteran Exemption - A similar exemption to the Disabled Veterans Homestead Exemption, in the same amount is now available to the un-remarried surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in any war or armed conflict engaged in by the United States. The surviving spouse must furnish appropriate documentation that spousal benefits are received as a result of the death of the armed forces member." The page also prints the county's own "Homestead Valuation Freeze Exemption" - "Meriwether County has implemented an exemption that will freeze the valuation of property at the base year valuation for as long as the homeowner resides on the property" - beside the standard, 65-and-older, 62-and-older school and floating inflation-proof rows. The route. "To receive the benefit of the homestead exemption, the taxpayer must file an initial application. The application is filed with the Meriwether County Tax Assessors Office. First time homeowners need to bring a copy of their warranty deed ... Driver's licenses must have the current Meriwether County physical address. A post office box is not acceptable." "Property tax bills are normally mailed out by October 1st of each year. Taxes are to be paid by December 20th of the same year." Tax Commissioner DeAnn Cruse, 17234 Roosevelt Highway, Building A, Greenville, GA 30222; phone (706) 672-4219, fax (706) 672-6147, [email protected]; "Monday - Friday 8:30AM - 4:30PM". The assessors sit at P.O. Box 187, Greenville (706) 672-4222, [email protected], 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Chief Appraiser William Harris, with appraisers Jennifer Ince, Dana Bachelor, Tonya Mason and Jarvhan Jackson, under a Board of Assessors of Greg Hobbs (Chairman), Cheryl Roberts and Robbie Phillips - and take the exemption applications; the qPublic record-search site answers a Cloudflare-style block (403) and was not read (the gap goes to docs/COUNTY-REVISIT.md). The floating homestead the board kept. The board's January 23, 2025 minutes carry the "House Bill 581 - Intent to Opt Out of Homestead Exemption" public hearing: County Administrator John Gorton reported that 59.76 percent of Meriwether's voters had approved Proposed Constitutional Amendment 1, that he, the staff and the Tax Commissioner were "recommending the County to opt out due to the current exemption that Meriwether County has", and that under the existing homestead "if your home is valued at $150,000, you have a homestead exemption of $150,000". The February 3, 2025 minutes carry Chairman Adam Worsley's formal announcement: "The Meriwether County Board of Commissioners has formally announced its decision to opt out of the newly proposed statewide homestead exemption under House Bill 581 ... Meriwether County's analysis reveals that the county's current floating homestead exemption - in place for 24 years - offers far greater benefits to its residents by capping taxable home values and shielding homeowners from market-driven tax increases ... The Meriwether County Board of Commissioners intends to opt out of the statewide adjusted base year ad valorem homestead exemption (HB 581) ... and proposes to maintain its long-standing floating homestead exemption, which has existed for 24 years and is more beneficial than the new cap placed by the state legislature (3 percent maximum growth in valuation based on inflation)." The veteran rows above are separate from the floating exemption, which continues as the county's homestead regime.