Don’t Let Paperwork Push a Widow Out of their Home
Read more about the amendment at the Cherokee Tribune.
Imagine losing your spouse and, in the middle of your grief, being told you now owe thousands in city taxes because your name wasn’t on the right form. That’s the situation Woodstock voters can change this November.
Our city’s senior homestead exemption gives residents 62 and older a full break from city property taxes once they’ve lived here five years. But if the spouse listed on the exemption passes away, the surviving spouse must start over with a five-year wait.
The amendment on this year’s ballot would fix that. It would let surviving spouses keep the exemption without being punished by bureaucracy at the hardest moment of their lives.
Woodstock is a city where nearly one in four residents will be over 65 by 2040. Seniors built this community, and they deserve stability, not sudden tax bills. Expanding the exemption isn’t politics — it’s fairness and compassion.
As mayor, I won’t have the power to set tax law myself — council and voters do. But I will have the mic to make sure everyone understands what’s at stake.
If we can’t take care of our seniors and their surviving spouses, what kind of community are we?
How to Vote
Register by October 6: sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/how-guide-registering-vote or cherokeegavotes.com.
Early voting:
• Oct. 14–25, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Oct. 27–31, 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
• South Cherokee Annex (7545 North Main St, Building 200, Woodstock) or Cherokee Elections Office (193 Lamar Haley Pkwy, Canton).Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 4, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Find your precinct: mvp.sos.ga.gov.
