Update: Buford responds to new law that allows Hall schools to keep tax revenue even if Buford annexes

May 11—Update: Buford City Schools responded to a new law that prevents the school system from collecting property taxes on land annexed by the city of Buford from Hall County. House Bill 156 freezes the boundaries of Hall County Schools, which also means students who live on land annexed by Buford will still be zoned for Hall County Schools.

Buford can still annex land in Hall County, but its school system won't reap the property taxes. Gregory Jay, attorney for Buford City Schools, said that eliminates any incentive for Buford to approve annexation requests moving forward.

"There's nothing in the law that prevents further municipal annexation, but there'll be no further motivation for Buford to process and approve an annexation if they're going to spend all the money in infrastructure and services and not receive anything from it," Jay told The Times in an interview.

That's not just bad news for Buford City Schools, he said. It's bad news for Hall County residents.

"(B)ut for these annexations and Buford's infrastructure the tax digest would remain stagnant for these properties," he said in a statement Tuesday. "These dollars and jobs benefit all Hall County residents."

He emphasized that all of Buford's annexations have been initiated by the property owners themselves, not the city.

"I mean, we get a couple single family homes here and there that are filing annexations because they want their kids apparently to attend Buford," he said. "What is driving all these municipal annexations is people trying to develop their property and they're unable to do so either because of Hall County's land use policies or because the infrastructure is not there."

He said most of the land Buford annexes is undeveloped agricultural land with little tax value. While those annexations inevitably siphon some property tax revenue away from Hall County Schools, he said, the loss in revenue tends to be modest.

As an example, he said, "I mean, you've got 20 acres and it's zoned (agricultural) ... and maybe they're paying less than $10,000 in taxes a year, so the (Hall County School District) is hardly getting anything."

Jay suggested the new law flies in the face of free market principles and also took a shot at the quality of education provided by Hall County Schools.

"One must ask their Hall County elected officials why are landowners seeking to annex not just into Buford but other Hall County municipalities?" he wrote in Tuesday's statement. "Cheaper, more responsive and better services is the answer. Rather than embracing competition, Hall County has sought to make its citizens captive."

Schofield called Jay's comments "laughable" in a written statement.

"The idea that one school district should be able to 'take over' portions of another through municipal annexation is laughable," he wrote. "Should Jackson County Schools be able to annex portions of the Clarke County (School) District and capture their neighbors (sic) tax base? Local districts can allow anyone they want to attend."

Jay responded in turn, saying "citizens of Hall County have voluntarily petitioned Buford to annex their land with their motivation to enable their children to attend the Buford City School System and to enhance the value of their property in comparison to similar properties within the Hall County School District. Furthermore, the majority of the annexed land is vacant and being commercially developed. Buford has never annexed an existing residential subdivision."

He added: "The irony is that Hall County (not the school system) benefits the most from the annexation and increased tax digest while their land use policies or lack of infrastructure is what is driving the annexation."

Phillip Beard, who has served as the chairman of the Buford's commission and school board since 1979, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

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Previous story: A law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp last week will ensure that when the city of Buford annexes land in Hall County, the boundaries of Hall County Schools will not be altered. It also means Hall County Schools will keep the tax money collected on property annexed by Buford.

House Bill 156 provides that "the boundaries of the Hall County school district are not changed by annexations undertaken by the City of Buford unless expressly approved in a separate local act of the General Assembly or by intergovernmental agreement," according to the bill.

"On behalf of the boys and girls of Hall County, I thank our legislative delegation and our Governor for making HB 156 a reality," said Hall County Superintendent Will Schofield in a news release Monday. "Hall County taxpayers deserve to have their local resources utilized for the benefit of our students in this community. Stability in attendance and resources is positive for boys and girls."

Schofield called the legislation a "huge deal" in an interview with The Times, saying it will keep Buford City Schools from siphoning property tax revenue away from Hall County Schools any time it annexes county property. He said it will also ensure that students don't find themselves living in a different school district when property is annexed.

Since 2006, Buford's tax digest within Hall County has grown from $216 million to $1.16 billion, according to Monday's news release.

Not all of that tax money goes to school systems. When asked how much property tax revenue Buford has siphoned from Hall County Schools through annexations, Schofield did not know exactly but said it has been millions of dollars.

Phillip Beard, chairman of the Buford school board, could not be reached for comment.

"Since pretty much like the '40s, the cities have had the power to annex property unilaterally," said Stuart Morelli, deputy legislative counsel for the General Assembly. "There's never really been any conditions for the county to approve when a city does an annexation."

The two school districts are also embroiled in a lawsuit over revenues collected from a 1% sales tax used to fund public school systems. Buford City Schools is demanding $1.64 million in unpaid sales tax money. Schofield, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, has said Buford is demanding more than its fair share and that his school district isn't paying unless ordered by a judge.

HB 156 was sponsored by representatives Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville; Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville; Emory Dunahoo, R-Gillsville; Brent Cox, R-Dawsonville; and Derrick McCollum, R-Chestnut Mountain.