Henry and Rockdale county voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to add a 1% sales tax whose proceeds could only lower their property taxes. Henry and Douglas voters also decide road taxes: about $330 million in Henry and up to $160 million in Douglas. Columbia County voters will decide whether to start a program that would give homeowners a credit on their county tax bills.
Henry. The sales tax for property tax relief would run five years starting in January 2027 and lower property taxes for Henry County and the cities of Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough and Stockbridge. The county says the money would be subtracted from the property taxes each year’s budget needs, so the tax rate would be lower than it would otherwise need to be. The road tax would reimpose a 1% transportation tax for up to six years to raise an estimated $330 million, with up to $80 million in county borrowing. The current road tax runs through March 2027, and the county plans to put 55% of its share into major roadway projects.
Two city questions are on Henry ballots, too. McDonough voters decide whether to allow package sales of liquor. In Hampton, voters decide whether residents of five years or more would get an exemption from city property taxes on the full assessed value of their homes.
Rockdale. The 1% sales tax would run five years, and its proceeds could only reduce property taxes imposed by Rockdale County and the City of Conyers.
Douglas. The county says its 1% transportation tax would be collected for six years, from 2027 to 2033, and could raise up to $160 million for road resurfacing, traffic signals, intersections, sidewalks and congestion relief throughout the county and parts of Austell, Douglasville and Villa Rica.
Columbia. Homeowners would get a dollar-for-dollar credit on their county property tax bills in years the county funds it. The county would fund the credit each year only if it took in more than it budgeted the year before and expects to take in at least as much next year. The law calls it a homeowner’s incentive adjustment program. Ending the program would take another vote.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30 [1].