County resources
Utilities, schools, property records, homestead filing and more for new and soon-to-be homeowners in Greensboro, Union Point, Reynolds Lake Oconee.
Good to know: utility providers and school zones can depend on your exact address — always confirm with the provider. Information is provided as a convenience and may change; let us know if you spot something out of date.
In Greene County, the Tax Assessor sets values and handles returns and exemptions, and the Tax Commissioner bills and collects. Both offices are at 1034 Silver Drive in Greensboro. County property taxes are generally due December 1, and the county's curbside trash fee is part of that bill.
Sets property values, takes property tax returns (Jan 1 to Apr 1) and homestead applications, and handles value appeals. You have 45 days from your assessment notice to appeal.
Bills and collects property taxes and issues vehicle tags. The lobby is open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 4:45 pm.
Property taxes are due December 1, or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday. The page also explains returns, the 40% assessment ratio and the three appeal routes.
The Tax Commissioner's official site for looking up bills, paying online, finding tax-sale info and using motor-vehicle links.
Look up owner, value, sales and parcel maps. Turn on the County Zoning or Short Term Rental Districts map layers to check a lot.
Records deeds, plats and liens. Open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm. Statewide deed indexes can be searched online through GSCCCA.
In Greene County you file for homestead with the Tax Assessor, either online through qPublic or at the office. You must own and live in the home on January 1, and the deadline is April 1. The county also offers a homestead value freeze, which is worth asking about when you file.
Applications filed by April 1 count for the current year; later filings start the next year. The page has forms for the regular and age-65 exemptions.
Search your address on qPublic and click Apply for Homestead Exemption. Upload a photo ID showing the property address; low-income filers add their tax returns and 100% disabled veterans add a VA letter.
Lists the local exemptions, such as an extra $8,000 local senior (65+) exemption and income-based senior exemptions. It also explains the homestead freeze, which exempts value increases after approval on the home and up to 5 acres.
The Assessor's form for Greene County's homestead freeze. Ask the office whether you need it on top of the basic application.
The school board advertised its intent to opt out of the HB 581 floating homestead exemption and held hearings in Jan–Feb 2025. Ask the Assessor which taxing bodies on your bill apply HB 581.
Official state overview of the HB 581 floating homestead exemption and its annual inflation index.
Statewide rules for the standard, senior, disabled-veteran and surviving-spouse exemptions.
There is no countywide water system in Greene County. Each of the five towns runs its own water system. Most Lake Oconee and Reynolds homes are served by Piedmont Water, a private utility, and most rural homes use a well and septic system.
The city runs its own water treatment plant and wastewater plant for in-city customers. Call City Hall to start service.
The city's current fee and rate schedule, including tap and connection fees. Restoring service after 4:30 pm adds a $50 after-hours fee on top of the $50 reconnect fee.
The city provides water and sewer to residents. You must apply in person at City Hall; the utility office is open 8 am to 4 pm.
Fill this out ahead of time and bring it to City Hall when you start service.
A private utility serving many Lake Oconee subdivisions, including the Reynolds system in south Greene County, which uses surface water. Office hours are Mon to Fri, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and emergency calls are taken 24/7.
Many lake homes use low-pressure sewer with a grinder pump. The pump belongs to the homeowner, who is responsible for it, so ask about its age at purchase.
Each of these small towns runs its own water system. Call the town office to start service: Siloam (706) 467-2787, White Plains (706) 467-2446, Woodville (706) 486-2303.
Greene County is in the Northeast Health District, and its Environmental Health office in Greensboro handles septic permits, perc approvals and well water sampling. You need a septic approval letter before the county will issue a building permit.
Handles septic permits, perc/septic letters, existing-system evaluations and well samples. Specialists are in the office only 8 to 9:30 am on Mon, Tue and Fri, so call first.
Get your septic letter or perc test from Environmental Health and attach it to your county building permit application.
Explains the district's septic permitting, inspections and system evaluations.
Use this to have an existing system checked before you buy or add on to a house.
Environmental Health's form to have a private well sampled.
Sells well-water and soil test kits and sends them to the UGA lab. Open Mon to Fri, 8 am to noon and 1 to 5 pm.
Explains which tests a private well needs and how often to run them.
State guidance on well safety, testing and disinfection.
Greene County is split between Georgia Power and Rayle EMC, and no city in the county runs its own electric system. On the county's territory map, the towns fall in Georgia Power areas, while large rural areas, including parts of the Lake Oconee area, are Rayle EMC. Check the county map or ask the utility which one serves your address.
An investor-owned utility. The county's territory map shows the towns and surrounding areas in Georgia Power territory. Start, stop or transfer service online.
A member-owned co-op serving rural Greene County. Office hours are Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm, and the main office number is (706) 678-2116.
Requires a $5 membership fee, a $35 non-refundable connect fee, a deposit of $0 to $300 based on credit, and a current photo ID.
Map posted by the county showing the Georgia Power and Rayle EMC areas. It dates from 2017, so confirm your address with the utility.
Greene County is not in Atlanta Gas Light territory, so there is no choice of gas marketer here. Natural gas comes from the City of Greensboro's own gas system or from the Tri-County Natural Gas Authority, which is based in Union Point. Many rural and lake homes use propane instead.
The city runs its own natural gas utility. Georgia 811 lists (706) 523-6628 as the city's gas emergency line.
Serves Union Point and parts of Greene, Oglethorpe, Taliaferro and Madison counties, from an office inside Union Point City Hall. Open Mon to Fri, 9 am to 5 pm; for a leak, call 911.
Lists Greene County's gas operators and their emergency numbers. Call 811 at least 48 hours before you dig.
Greene County trash works differently from most places. The county contracts weekly curbside cart pickup with WM for residential properties and adds a flat fee to your property tax bill, so there is no separate trash bill. New homeowners have to request service before pickup starts.
Use the online Curbside Services Request Form to start service, report a missed pickup or replace a cart. The fee appears on your annual tax bill.
Pickup is weekly. Put the cart out the night before, within 2 ft of the pavement and 5 ft from mailboxes. Trash must be bagged, and tires, construction debris and hazardous waste are not accepted.
WM's page for the county contract, where you can look up your pickup day. Extra carts cost a fee and are arranged directly with WM.
Open Mon to Sat, 7 am to 6 pm, and Sun, 1 to 7 pm. Takes cardboard, metal and appliances, yard waste, furniture, mattresses, electronics and motor oil. It does not take glass, tires, liquid paint or shingles.
The fee is charged on every residentially improved parcel. It can be dropped only for dwellings that are secured, have no power and no plumbing, or are demolished.
Greene County does not run a municipal or co-op broadband service. The county lists AT&T, Windstream (Kinetic), Spectrum and Sparklight (formerly Hargray) as the local telephone, internet and cable providers. Coverage changes from road to road, so check the exact address before you buy.
Enter an address to see which providers report service there and at what speeds.
The county's list of AT&T, Charter Spectrum, Hargray (now Sparklight) and Windstream, with contact numbers.
AT&T's local page for Greensboro internet and fiber availability.
The Spectrum page the county links for Greensboro. The county's provider list gives (888) 692-8635. Check residential availability by address.
Windstream's internet brand, which the county lists as a provider. The county's list gives (888) 910-2249. Check your address on the site.
Greene County School System is the one public district for the whole county. Lake Oconee Academy is a public charter school in south Greene County. Its charter contract is held through the district, and it has its own enrollment process.
New students register online. Bring a driver's license plus two proofs of residency, such as a utility bill. A kiosk is available by appointment at Central Registration.
Phone numbers for the district office and for each school: Greene County Elementary, Anita White Carson Middle and Greene County High.
Covers bus routes and schedules. For questions about the bus stop for your address, call the transportation office at ext. 2301.
A tuition-free public charter school in Greensboro. Check its website for application windows and lottery details.
The county Building & Zoning office covers unincorporated Greene County, including most Lake Oconee shoreline. Greensboro and Union Point handle their own zoning and permits. Docks and seawalls on Lake Oconee also need Georgia Power's approval, and short-term rentals are allowed only in designated overlay districts.
Handles permits, inspections, zoning, erosion control and setbacks for unincorporated areas. Open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm.
Apply for single-family, dock/seawall, electrical, HVAC and manufactured home permits, and request inspections.
You need an erosion control card, a septic letter, plans and subcontractor affidavits, plus a printed set of plans to scale delivered to the office. Homeowner-builders must sign an affidavit.
Check zoning on qPublic using the County Zoning layer, not the 'class' field. Lakeshore districts are LR1 and LR2.
Rentals under 31 days must be in a Short-Term Rental Overlay District, carry an annual county license and pay hotel/motel tax. Operating without a license carries a $1,000-per-day penalty.
Covers unincorporated areas only. Enforces property maintenance, junk vehicles, overgrown lots, signs and short-term rental rules, and complaints can be anonymous.
Handles zoning and permits inside city limits, including some newly annexed areas along Lake Oconee Parkway. Confirm whether your address is in the city.
Exterior changes in the downtown historic district, bounded by North, East, South and West Streets, need a Certificate of Appropriateness.
Bureau Veritas handles the city's permits and inspections: Building Official (706) 362-3496 and permit admin (678) 814-5636. Permits are required for additions, electrical, HVAC, fences and remodels.
Docks, seawalls, boathouses, dredging and tree removal along the shoreline need Georgia Power approval in addition to county permits. Apply online.
Georgia Power's rules for dock size, placement and shoreline buffers on Lake Oconee.
Call 911 for emergencies. The Greene County 911 Center dispatches the Sheriff, Greensboro Police, county Fire Rescue, EMS and the volunteer fire departments. Union Point and the other small towns have no police department, so the Sheriff covers them.
Dispatches countywide. Post your 911 address clearly at the driveway and on the house, preferably with reflective numbers.
Handles law enforcement for unincorporated areas and towns without their own police. Union Point's city site lists the Sheriff's office line as (706) 453-3351.
City police, open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm. This number also handles animal control inside Greensboro city limits.
Five staffed stations, backed by city and private volunteer departments. Fire insurance ratings vary by district, so ask your insurer.
24-hour ALS ambulance service from three stations. Ambulance bills can be paid online.
Disaster preparedness and storm response. Sign up for county alerts on the county website.
Inside Greensboro or Union Point, get a burn permit from City Hall; Greensboro bans burning within 1,000 ft of a residence. Elsewhere, follow the page's link to the state permit system.
The official statewide registry, searchable by address or name.
Greensboro has its own DDS center, so you can handle driver's licenses locally. Car tags go through the Tax Commissioner. Many county services, including Elections, Extension, EMS and DDS, are clustered at 1180 C Weldon Smith Drive.
The Tax Commissioner's office is the county tag office for titles, registrations and renewals. Renewals can also be done online through DRIVES or at a self-service kiosk.
Driver's licenses and IDs. Open Tue to Fri, 8 am to 6 pm, and closed Sat, Sun and Mon.
Voter registration and polling places. Open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm. Update your address after you move.
Check your registration, polling place and sample ballot.
Open Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri 9 am to 6 pm, Thu 9 am to 8 pm, Sat 10 am to 4 pm and Sun 2 to 6 pm. It is a free PINES library.
Youth and adult sports leagues, pickleball and fitness. Office hours are Mon, Tue and Thu 9 am to 8 pm, Wed 9 am to 5 pm, and Fri and Sat 9 am to 2 pm.
A paved rail-trail running from Union Point through Woodville, part of the planned 39-mile route to Athens. No motorized vehicles.
Covers unincorporated areas only, Mon to Fri, 8 am to 5 pm. Inside town limits call Greensboro (706) 453-7555, Union Point (706) 486-4102 or Siloam (706) 467-2787.
Door-to-door rides on weekdays; book 24 hours ahead. Fares are $3 one way in Greensboro, $4 outside city limits and $22 round trip to Athens.
Handles dirt-road scraping (about an 8-week cycle), right-of-way mowing, potholes and driveway pipe problems. Open Mon to Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pm.
Help with veterans' benefits, including the paperwork for the disabled-veteran homestead exemption.
Most flood risk in Greene County is along Lake Oconee, the Oconee and Apalachee rivers, and creeks. Check the official FEMA map for any lot before you buy, and ask the county Building & Zoning office about floodplain permits.
Search an address for the official flood map (FIRM) and download a FIRMette for your lender or insurer.
Georgia DNR's interactive flood map, which is easier to browse parcel by parcel.
The county GIS office maintains the qPublic map layers. Contact it with mapping questions or errors.
Ask here about building or filling in a mapped floodplain before you start work.
Buying in a neighborhood with an HOA? Read the covenants during due diligence.
Use our under-contract checklist, find trusted local pros, or ask your agent anything.