JIPSD Property Tax Increase

Charleston County Council approved the James Island Public Service District 2% property tax hike last night.    Councilman Joe Qualey opposed the tax increase, asking that the JIPSD provide public notice and receive public comment before raising taxes.   He questioned the PSD's procedure of adding in the tax hike as an amendment to a second reading of a budget that had included no tax hike before.  Councilmen Dickie Schweers and Herb Sass supported Qualey's position, but the majority of County Council voted to allow the JIPSD to raise taxes.

The purpose of the tax hike is to fund a 3% across-the-board pay increase for all JIPSD employees.   Commissioners who opposed the tax hike argued that the salary increase could be funded out of the District's $3 million surplus for many years.

Fortunately, the Town of James Island has proposed to the James Island PSD a 14 percent property tax credit (7 mils).   This proposal is now being considered by the PSD Commissioners.   If the JIPSD cooperates, then residents of the Town will end up with a 12 percent tax decrease (1 mil tax hike minus the 7 mil tax credit.)    The Town has offered to pay the JIPSD $400,000 to cover the lost tax revenue.
Unfortunately, those residents who were in the Town before but could not be included this time will be forced to pay the higher taxes imposed by the JIPSD without any tax credit.   The Town is working to return all of those residents to the Town.   In the future, the Town plans to provide even larger tax credits for all of our citizens.

The funds for the tax credit comes from the Local Option Sales Tax.   All James Island residents pay this tax, but the Town only receives credit for residents and businesses in the Town.   Because we only received funds for part of this year, the tax credits will be smaller than what we expect in the future.   As the Town regains our lost citizens, revenues will expand so that they too can share in the tax credits.

This is one reason I argued that a property tax increase for the James Island Public Service District is inappropriate at this time.   However, only Commissioners Inez Brown Crouch, Carter McMillian and June
Waring voted against the 2 percent tax hike.    I strongly encourage all of the Commissioners to help the residents of the Town by cooperating with a property tax credit this year.   I am sorry that we cannot help those James Islanders who are not yet in the Town.