Horry County to examine impact fees, special tax districts to finance growing pains
Horry County will consider impact fees and a special purpose tax district after this year’s budget requests were $15 million over the proposed $370 million county budget for fiscal year 2016.
County Council wrangled with budget requests throughout this week at its spring budget retreat at the Wampee Conference Center in Pinopolis. The budget includes no new taxes or fee increased, but county officials worked at trimming $4.8 million from the budget and had to dip into its fund balance to the tune of $8 million. A shift of about $3 million in hospitality tax revenue to public safety related to tourism helped balance the $370 million budget.
The county hasn’t even considered $4.5 million in enhancement requests, such as additional attorneys in the solicitor’s office to catch up with workload.
As needs outweighed revenue, County Council began examining expenses it wished were in the budget.
Councilman Bob Grabowski said he would like to see the county find ways for pay increases for law enforcement, fire and emergency services personnel.
“I understand our pay for our police officers over a period of time used to be at the top in the area, and Myrtle Beach has given their officers [consumer price index] raises and cost of living adjustments over the years and now they’re above us...,” Grabowski said. “I think what we need to do is look at a grade bump for police, fire, first responders. I’m not talking about support people or anything like that... I would like for us to at least think about that, so the next time we get together we can talk about it.”
Council Chairman Mark Lazarus said additional revenue sources would be needed to meet the council’s wish list.
“Until we can find other sources of new revenue, there’s no way we can do anything,” Lazarus said. “We’ve got to find new sources of revenue.”
Lazarus said one suggestion would be to separate public safety from the general fund and create its own fund, charging a separate millage.
“It’s going to take about 12 mills in order to pay for everything,” Lazarus said. “In order to accomplish what you want to accomplish, we’re going to have to increase the unincorporated areas of Horry County to about 16 to 18 mills. That’s one plan to raise revenue.”
Councilmen Jody Prince and Paul Prince, who both represent rural districts in the county, said that plan may be met with opposition.
“Any tax increases to the unincorporated areas is going to choke us,” Jody Prince said. “It’s going to choke us down.”
Lazarus then asked County Administrator Chris Eldridge and County Attorney Arrigo Carotti to look at an impact fee on new single-family home developments, scaled based on the value of the home. Lazarus said he is not interested in including commercial development because he figures enough revenue would be raised considering 200 new homes per month are currently brought before the planning department.
Though law states impact fees can help solely with capital improvement, the move would help free up money from the general fund to re-allocate to public safety.
Councilman Harold Worley said he would favor impact fees, and has had to pay for infrastructure improvements for his business before.
“It’s a matter of what do we do,” Worley said. “Do we continue to cut services? Do we raise millage on our existing people here in the county? Or do we put a fee on what’s creating the problem? And the problem is new development, new people moving in to the Grand Strand area.”
Councilman Marion Foxworth said he supports county residents paying for the services they get.
“We need to separate the millage and make people pay for the services they are getting or we have to look at delivering police services a different way...,” Foxworth said. “Perhaps we have to look at the entire delivery of public service. We batted around the idea of consolidation, I think an even better plan... is a metropolitan police force. I don’t know why we need 11 police departments in Horry County to begin with.
Lazarus asked county administration to come back with exact numbers and the procedure to create a special tax district for the unincorporated areas of Horry County.
“We can dance around the subject all we want, the reality is something has to be done and one option is a special purpose tax district in unincorporated areas of Horry County,” Lazarus said. “We have gang and a crime problem. If we don’t attack it today, and the only way you’re going to attack it is with more money by putting more boots on the ground, giving the chief more resources to do her job, and to give our police force more resources to do their job, that’s the only way we’re going to fix the problem or get a handle on it... We have an opportunity today to get a hold of it. I told y’all earlier we’ve got to be bold. This council’s got to be bold and take some bold steps.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Horry County to examine impact fees, special tax districts to finance growing pains."