ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, state Rep. Inga Willis and former state Sen. Jason Esteves gathered with members of the Atlanta Board of Education and the local legislative delegation to urge voters to approve tax relief for the city’s seniors.
At the Tuesday news conference, Dickens and co. urged voters to approve a homestead exemption for those 65 years or older, keeping them from paying taxes to the City of Atlanta Independent School District.
Willis said the Act 358 would be a way to provide relief and cut through anxiety for Atlanta residents.
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“There was a conversation we had had — what can we do together to push for some sort of relief? How can we cut through the times that breed anxiety for so many of our citizens, with uncertainty. We know that things are tough, we know that things are hard. But for our seniors, who should be in the most comfortable and comforted moment in their lives, I believe that this is a step in the right direction,” Willis said. “We are asking you to help us give our seniors relief. In order to do that, we need you to turn out like you’ve never turned out before.”
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The exemption would allow seniors who qualify to claim $50,000 less for assessed values on their homesteads.
According to Esteves at the briefing, the measure would provide relief to seniors.
Atlanta city officials said it would save seniors up to $1,000 on their property taxes each year.
“[Act 358] will provide up to $1,000 for seniors, 65 and up, and that is on top of any other exemptions that seniors may have,” Esteves said at the briefing. “I’ve seen how in this city, seniors are struggling. I’ve also seen across the state how we are driving the seniors into bankruptcy and not providing them the support that they need. Atlanta is an example of how we can stand up and support our seniors — that’s what this legislation is all about, and I’m proud to be standing up here with the city, with state officials, and with School Board officials to get it done… So to my fellow Atlantans: I need y’all to vote ‘yes.’”
Esteves, before resigning from the state senate to campaign for a chance to be Georgia’s next governor, authored the version of this legislation in the state Senate, which would allow this exemption with voter approval.
With just weeks until the measure is voted upon in November, Dickens, Esteves, Willis and other advocates are urging voters to provide that relief to the city’s seniors.
For Dickens, it’s also a way to give back to those who made Atlanta what it is, providing relief to the seniors living on fixed incomes or struggling with rising costs.
“These are residents who have spent a lifetime building something [and] it will simply be unconscionable for them to lose it or for us to allow them to lose it. And so many of our working class families’ homes are passed on from one generation to the next — it’s how we start to build generational wealth,” Dickens said at the briefing. “Atlanta voters recognize how important this is, and I’m confident they will join us in standing with our seniors. The people who helped build this city must be able to continue to call it home, so we’re asking you to vote ‘yes’ — we’re asking you to vote ‘yes’ for Act 358.”
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