Orangeburg County property taxes going up; council trims planned increase

Sep. 23--Orangeburg County Council has set the county's millage rate for the upcoming tax year, including a four-mill increase to fund county operations and pay debt service obligations.

Under the approved millage rate, owners of houses valued at $100,000 and assessed at a 4 percent property tax rate would pay $16 more on their tax bills. Owners of $100,000 homes assessed at a 6 percent rate would pay $24 more.

County Administrator Harold Young presented the millage chart for the 2020-21 fiscal year during Monday's virtual council meeting.

Council initially considered 95 mills for the general fund budget; four mills for capital improvements; 16 mills for debt service; nine mills for solid waste; 7.8 mills for special education and 18 mills for the fire district fund.

Council ultimately voted 5-2 to approve a chart which included shaving off one mill from the county's capital improvement fund. Councilmen Johnny Ravenell, Willie B. Owens, Heyward Livingston, Harry Wimberly and Chairman Johnnie Wright voted in favor, while councilwomen Janie Cooper-Smith and Deloris Frazier were opposed.

The change came after Wimberly questioned the increase in millage rates over last year.

While the millage rates for the county's special lighting districts remain the same as last year, this year's millage chart included an increase in the general fund's millage rate from 93 to 95.

It also called for a capital improvement millage rate increase from three to four mills, along with a two-mill increase in debt service from 14 to 16, which would have amounted to a five-mill increase.

"I thought we looked at about three mills: two on the general and one on the capital improvements. We were not $1.5 million out of budget when we did the budget. We were short. We still had to raise a couple of mills on general, but this is the first I've heard about five mills. I can't go along with no five-mill tax increase at one time," Wimberly said.

Orangeburg County Deputy Administrator Marion Lloyd had earlier explained that the general fund value of a mill at a 100 percent collection rate was $313,000.

Livingston said, "That's the first I've heard about five mills, too. I thought it would probably be around three mills."

Young said, "We discussed the general and the capital, but the debt service ended up having a need for the financial planning aspect of two mills based upon the schedule that we laid out when we started doing our IPRB bonds a couple of years ago as part of the jail funding."

He added, "So as part of the jail funding, they gave you recommendations on certain years you would have to add certain amounts to the debt service fund to keep it sustained because we're having to do the IPRB bonds every year to deal with the aspect of the debt for the jail."

The county recently completed a new, $29 million jail. Young also noted increased costs for protective personal equipment to keep both inmates and employees safe.

Lloyd said, "You will have some debt dropping off. I don't have those particular bonds, but you will have debt coming off the books, therefore having the ability to reduce millage in debt service going forward."

Young said, "If you take the mill off of capital improvement, we can defer construction. So that's probably the easiest way to deal with it."

Cooper-Smith asked, "What are our chances of having the increase to make up for this mill next year?

Young said, "It's hard to say because the budget with the state is the problem. Number one, we haven't gotten reimbursed for anything that we spent in the COVID environment yet. Even though they say it's out there and they talked about it, we haven't gotten any of those funds back.

"And we haven't received any money yet for the tornado response or the other disaster stuff that we've dealt with. So those types of things hit the budget, and that's why you have those issues."

The administrator added, "We're just trying to make it so that we can stay abreast with what we're trying to do to push the county forward as well as being safe. With the state not telling us anything about the revenues that they have coming forward, and you know the tourism industry was cut pretty well. So we don't know where the local government fund will stand next year."

"We're deep into September and we were promised, number one, funds from the CARES Act since March. It hadn't come yet and don't know when it'll come. So that does affect this budget year and what we've done prior," he said.

In other business, council also approved bringing forward $1,028,999 from last fiscal year.

"This is the carry forward in discretionary projects that we have to move forward to continue the projects that you have going on in your specific districts," Young said.

Council also approved an emergency purchase of $108,154.53 for the provision of broadband services in the county.

"Under the CARES Act broadband grant what we received, we have to do a purchase of fiber and other materials to get that project going because we have a deadline to get that part of the project done. This is the project bid to our vendor Kalix, who is the sole source for this project," Young said.

In other matters, council approved three recommendations from the county Planning Commission, including the denial of Norway resident Brandon Pough's request to rezone property located at 248 Bellance Road from forest agricultural to commercial general to establish a used car lot.

Council accepted the commission's recommendation to approve a request from CDP Eutawville LLC to rezone property located at 13532 and 13538 Old Number Six Highway in Eutawville from forest agricultural to commercial general for the establishment of a Dollar General.

Council finally accepted the commission's recommendation to approve a request from Vernon Jamison to rezone property located at 1161 Whaley St. in Orangeburg from residential general to commercial general to establish an all-in-one car care service.

No action was taken following an executive session.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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