HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — If you're a homeowner, you probably get a notice every year that your property's value will be reassessed.
Right now, there's a bill in the Georgia General Assembly that could put a cap on how much your home value can change if it's passed,
Senate Bill 349's goal, co-sponsor state Sen. Larry Walker (R-20) said, is to help longtime homeowners in Georgia.
"It really helps people, and is targeted to help people, who are already established in a community," Walker said.
Walker is from Perry, a city in Houston County where property owners have already had a cap on their tax property for years.
However, surrounding neighbors, like Jim Taylor in Warner Robins, still get an estimate with that reassessment notice — but that's usually wrong, Walker said.
Without taking millage rate rollbacks and homestead exemptions into consideration, those estimates are inaccurate, the senator explained.
However, that still makes some homeowners upset and reach out to their tax assessor's office to raise concerns.
This bill, Walker said, should help homeowners statewide as well as make the jobs easier at the commissioner's office.
Taylor has lived in Central Georgia for nearly half a century with his family.
"Cheryl and I were going to Church yesterday and she goes, 'We have so much to be blessed for," he said.
Though he's native to Pennsylvania, Taylor said he's called Houston County home since the '70s.
"This area here, Houston County particularly, has always had a high demand for housing because it's great place to move to," Taylor elaborated.
He bounced around Houston County, first settling in Warner Robins, then Centerville and Perry, before returning to the international city.
Taylor said when he bought his 2.5-acre property on June 10, 2006, the value of his home was about $200K. Since then, he said, it's gone up to nearly $400K.
He said he hopes this bill lends itself towards providing more affordable home ownership to people.
Walker said this bill is supposed to help seniors, retirees and folks who live on a fixed income.
SB-349 is still in the process of being updated, and the public is invited to share input.
Walker said you can reach out to him and/or your state representative with ideas.