Seth Harp challenges Mayor to tax freeze debate

With more than 75 Columbus residents looking on, Mayor Teresa Tomlinson accepted a debate challenge Thursday afternoon from retired attorney and former state Sen. Seth Harp during her "Thaw The Freeze" forum at the Columbus Public Library.

The challenge came after Tomlinson presented an alternative proposal that would reduce the number of homeowners under the tax assessment freeze, a law approved in 1982 that freezes the value of an owner-occupied home at the move-in value. The mayor's sunset plan would allow current homeowners under the freeze to keep it as long as they live in their home. The mayor's proposal also would increase the local homestead exemption from $13,500 to $20,000.

 On Friday, officials  confirmed the debate will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn , 1500 Bradley Lake Blvd.  in Columbus.

The mayor said she's happy to debate Harp on a topic that has been talked about for five years. Tomlinson said she faced 44 debates in the race for mayor.

"I'm not going to hide from questions," the mayor said. "Even if I have the answer you don't like, we are going to have the debate."

Opposed to the mayor's tax plan, Harp said he wants to point out that the city will create two separate classes of homestead exemptions if the plan is approved. Ones with the freeze would have $13,500 and those without with the higher $20,000 exemption.

"The constitution squarely says you can't do that," he said.

If the plan is ruled unconstitutional, Harp said the hope that homeowners would revert back to the freeze is against a provision of the 1983 Constitution.

"You can't have competing classes within the homestead exemption," Harp said.

Harp said his legal concerns have been written in a memo from former city attorney Hardy Polleys. Tomlinson said the legal concerns have been checked by a tax attorney supporting the proposal. If any part of this proposal is ever ruled unconstitutional, Tomlinson said, the whole attempt is done.

"You go back to what you had before," she said.

Both sides of those concerns may be debated.

"I'm fair," Tomlinson said. "We are going to talk both sides of this thing."

Chester Randolph, a Columbus Realtor, said there is an unfair tax system in Columbus and asked Harp if he had a plan to fix it.

"I know there are a lot of people in my neighborhood and they are paying a lot higher taxes than I pay," he said. "As people continue to come in as the mayor just alluded to they are not coming here. I see these facts every day cause I'm a Realtor. The true question is Columbus, Georgia, does not have a fair tax system for property. It's not fair."

James Johnson, a Lake Oliver Estates resident in his 80s and a former consultant, said something didn't smell right with the tax proposal.

"That is a red herring," he said. "I have been listening to what comes up on TV and in the newspaper. One thing that bothers me most is we keep hearing about tax freeze. This is not a tax freeze. It's changing the fair market value. When you use the word tax, you scare a lot of people. That is what I see going on here. You are scaring a lot of people."

Columbus is a retirement community and that's why Johnson said he came to the city.

"In 15 years, I'll come back to talk to you when I'm 99," he said.

Former state Rep. Gary Cason, who introduced the city's tax freeze legislation, said the law is just as good today as it was 33 years ago.

"We as citizens have benefitted," he said.

He said the people in DeKalb County are facing soaring assessments of 19 to 20 percent. Taxes also are higher in Decatur.

"We are in the position, folks, where we are protected," he said. "How many folks in this room, moms and dads, living in four bedroom houses with three baths and want to down size. Not very many I'm afraid. They are benefitting from the tax freeze. They are not trying do a tax thaw, they are trying to do a tax meltdown in my opinion."

Jed Harris supports the proposal in a city that's missing out on jobs.

"In the era of high tech, we are sadly behind in the good paying jobs," he said. "I think this is one of these situations where we have to put our interests above our perceived self interests."

Tomlinson said she will have a conversation with the 10-member Columbus Council soon about placing the proposal on the November 2016 ballot.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Seth Harp challenges Mayor to tax freeze debate."