Local governments would lose millions if homestead exemption not funded

If the state doesn't fund the homestead exemption this year, local governments would lose millions in funding.

Bibb County Tax Commissioner Tommy Tedders said Bibb County would lose about $3 million, the Bibb school board would lose $4.2 million and the city of Macon would lose almost $1.3 million.

In Bibb County, the tax break saves the average unincorporated homeowner $266 a year. The average city homeowner saves $327, Tedders said. The figures would vary in other counties, depending on the millage rate and a home's value.

For example: The average annual savings in Jones County is about $250, County Administrator Mike Underwood said.

Houston County Administrator Steve Engle said ending the grant would cost that county about $1.9 million. He said the county doesn't have the money on hand to make up the difference, and it could never find $1.9 million to cut from the budget, which already has been approved. The county also has already set its property tax millage rate.

But Engle also said he is confident that pressure from legislators will ultimately lead to the grant remaining in place this year.