Live in Conway? Your taxes could soon go up. Here’s what the money will pay for.
If you live within Conway city limits, you could face a higher tax bill later this year as the city looks to raise taxes and fees in next year’s budget.
The city could levy new fees, too, in an effort to pay for sidewalks and streetlights.
The Conway City Council gave an initial approval to the $50 million budget, which takes affect July 1, at a meeting Monday evening with little discussion and no public input. The council will vote twice more on the package between now and June 30.
All told, Conway appears to have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in healthy financial shape, despite the tax and fee increases. The pandemic walloped local budgets by affecting the amount of revenue brought in by tourists, meaning collections from hospitality and accommodations fees were down for Conway and other governments in Horry County. The county, for example, lost approximately $22.3 million in revenue due to the pandemic.
But Conway appears poised for a steady recovery as it looks to expand city infrastructure, keep up with infrastructure repairs and equip city personnel with needed tools to do their jobs.
To pay for an annual increase in the cost of living for city workers, Conway’s budget includes a 1.7% property tax increase, bringing the total millage from 76 mills to 77.3 mills. That means a resident living in a home assessed to be worth $150,000 would owe $8 more in property taxes, an increase from $456 to $464.
The budget also includes several fee increases to pay for services like garbage hauling, water and sewer. Due to rate increases by the Horry County Solid Waste Authority, solid waste fees will increase by 26%, or several dollars per household. For a home with one roll-out cart that’s picked up by the city once a week, the solid waste fee will increase $5 a month, from $19 to $24. The city will lease commercial dumpsters for $50 a month.
Conway is also raising its monthly stormwater fees by 19% for both residential and commercial services. For residents, that means a stormwater fee increase from $5.25 a month to $6.25 a month.
The city will also increase its water and sewer fees for households by 6%, or several dollars per household, to help keep up with repairs and other fixes to the aging system. For homes using the average of 6,000 gallons monthly, residents in city limits will pay $2.81 more, residents out of the city but in the water system will pay $2.63 more and residents out of the city will pay $5.62 more.
Conway also plans to levy two new fees to residents to help pay for sidewalks and streetlights. The proposed budget includes a $4.79 streetlight maintenance fee as well as a $2.50 sidewalk maintenance fee. Those new fees, as their descriptions imply, will help the city pay for its pedestrian infrastructure.
Taken altogether, the average Conway resident will pay a little more than $20 in additional taxes and fees next year if the council passes the budget as-is. Those taxes and fees will pay for both the city’s operating expenses, including city employee salaries and regular operations, as well as a capital budget for new tools and equipment.
Next year’s capital budget will be smaller than that of years prior, but will include a number of vehicles and other tools the city’s departments use or need to replace. For example, the capital budget includes funding for:
- Four new police vehicles, plus and administrative vehicle, security cameras and license plate readers;
- Furnishing several new buildings;
- Two new garbage-hauling trucks;
- A new maintenance building;
- Software upgrades;
- Tools to help resurface roads;
- Dumpsters.
Conway spokesperson Brooke Holden said the city doesn’t plan to issue any new bonds to pay for those projects, but will instead pay out of the general fund, which is funded by taxes and fees.
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 1:10 PM.
