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Public Notice
Property Records, Estimate Taxes, Exemptions, Forms, General Information
Important Notice to Homeowners Regarding 2009 Property Taxes
Tax Commissioner Sheila Arnold says homeowners should brace themselves for additional property taxes. The state homestead tax relief grant that funded an increased homestead exemption for homeowners for the last several years will not be available this year. Declining state revenues during the current recession means there is no money for the State to give the tax relief to homeowners said Arnold. This will mean a property tax increase of $200 to $300 on the 2009 tax bills for many Georgia homeowners. The grant appropriated by the General Assembly and the Governor for the last several years to counties, cities and schools had given tax relief to homeowners in the form of a credit on their tax bills. According to legislation passed this year (House Bill 143), the grant will only be made available in the future if state revenues grow at least 3% plus the rate of inflation.
Arnold encourages homeowners to prepare for the increase now before tax bills are issued later this year. It’s unfortunate in slow economic times to have to deliver this message says Arnold but homeowners need to know now so they can plan accordingly with their household budgets or make sure that tax escrows are properly funded with their mortgage companies to handle the tax increase.
Welcome to Oglethorpe County
Oglethorpe County, the largest in Northeast Georgia, is located approximately 70 miles east of Atlanta. The varied landscape is composed of pine forests, natural woodlands, pastures, and small rural communities connected by well-maintained county roads. The large expanses of open rolling fields and wooded acreage, punctuated with fine old homes, make this county a beautiful and inviting place to live.
Some History on the County
Oglethorpe County, established in 1793, is one of the oldest established areas in NE Georgia. It was named for General James Edward Oglethorpe founder of the colony 60 years earlier. Read our county information section for more history.
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