Data centers proposed as a gateway to property tax relief
County officials in Georgia are advocating for a change in state law to allow counties to collect utility franchise fees from data centers, which currently only cities can do. This move could generate millions in revenue due to data centers' high electricity consumption, potentially leading to lower property taxes for residents. A bill addressing this issue failed in the last legislative session but is expected to be revisited.
Georgia county officials are pushing for legislative changes that would allow them to collect utility franchise fees from data centers, a revenue stream currently exclusive to cities. Clint Mueller, deputy director of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), highlights that data centers' significant electricity consumption could generate substantial fees for counties, which could then be used to reduce property taxes for citizens.
According to Keenan Rogers, governmental affairs associate for ACCG, Georgia cities collected $250 million in franchise fees, accounting for 4% of city budgets. Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor, a proponent of this change, believes that allowing counties to collect these fees, in addition to property taxes from large electric users like data centers, could "eliminate most of the residential property taxes" in his county. Representative Mitchell Scoggins, R-Cartersville, sponsored House Bill 1384, which would have granted counties 25% of the franchise fees collected by cities, but the bill failed to pass during the last General Assembly session. Despite the bill's failure, stakeholders view it as having successfully brought attention to the issue, suggesting the debate will continue.