Update on Folly and Camp and Harbor View Road Contracts

I have visited many James Islanders over the last few weeks and I have often been asked about when the Folly/Camp and Harbor View Road projects are set to begin.

From Cal Oyer, the Construction Project Manager oof Charleston County Transportation Development:

"The current plan is to advertise Harbor View Rd in mid-June and receive bids late July.  The best-case award date would be August 26,  but we have to get SCDOT concurrence which could push award into mid to late September. 

For Folly/Camp, we plan to re-advertise late July and receive bids late August.  Best case award for Folly/Camp would be mid-September, but  we have to get SCDOT concurrence which could push award into October."

Community Workshop: The Preserve at Dills Bluff

Pulte Homes and HLA Inc. will be holding a Community Workshop at the Town of James Island’s Town Hall to ensure early citizen participation in a project that will involve a 30 home single family residential community on Dills Bluff Road. The applicants are proposing a rezoning of the property (1054 Dills Bluff, across the street from Town Hall and behind First Baptist Church) to the Planned Development (PD) Zoning District and welcome anyone interested in more information to attend the workshop on Tuesday, June 3rd from 6pm-7pm.

CERT Training June 10 to July 29

I strongly recommend CERT training.   Let's be prepared.  

24-HR- Basic TEEN/Adult Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT)

Date: Tuesday, June 10- July 29, 2014
Time: 9:00 am until 12:00 pm
Location: St. Andrews Middle School
721 Wappoo Rd. Charleston, SC. 29407

Lowcountry Teen CERT in conjunction with Charleston County EMD will be conducting a Basic CERT class. This class is open to Adults and Teens 14 and older. Parents and teens are invited to attend this Course together to help their family be prepared for disasters. This class will run every Tuesday from June 10th - July 29th (classes will begin at 9am and conclude at or before 12pm) .The Course Review & Disaster Simulation will be held on July 29. (Location to be determined) This program will help you prepare for an emergency and build skills to adapt to unexpected situations.

To register or if you have any questions, please contact:

Harry Sosa: 843-813-3922
Email: Sosah@charleston-sc.gov

OR

Valarie White: 843-478-3774
Email: Skyhigh304@aol.com

Bill Woolsey for Mayor

Please Vote on July 29

It is already time for another election.   While the voters chose four year terms for Mayor and Council,  state law requires that the intitial term be two years.

The Town has made much progress since we reopened the doors on August 2, 2012, but there is much more to do.    Please come out and vote on July 29th.   Thank you for allowing me to serve the Town for the last two years.  I would very much appreciate the opportunity to serve you for another term.

If you have any questions or concerns email me at mayorwoolsey@jamesislandsc.us or call me at 697-7020.

For more campaign news go to BillWoolseyforMayor.com or like the campaign facebook page here.

Library Resolution

Town Council unanimously approved the following resolution regarding the library ballot question.  The resolution has been sent to all members of County Council.

Folly Road Corridor Overlay District Resoluation

Town Council unanimously approved the following resolution.   It was sent to all members of Charleston County Council before last week's vote to amend the Folly Road Overlay District to make the Residential areas Neighborhood Commercial.

Memorial Day Observance

American Legion Post 147 will be holding a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 26, 2014 at 11 AM.   The Post is located at 968 Folly Road on James Island.   They will provide lunch after the services.   Please come help honor those who have given their lives for our freedom.

Camp Road Sidewalk News

One of my key priorities is the completion of our sidewalk network on our primary and secondary roads.

Since the Town was reincorporated in 2012, we have completed a conceptual study for a sidewalk along Camp Road from Fort Johnson to the end of our jurisdiction on Mellichamp Drive.   We are working on the project in phases.   The first segment, from Fort Johnson to Dills Bluff, is slated to begin construction soon.   The Town just funded the design work for phase 2, between Dills Bluff and Secessionville Road.

The Town held discussions with the City of Charleston, including with members of City Council, at the James Island Intergovernmental Council meeting, regarding extending the project through City jurisdiction which includes the segment from Bishop Gadsden and on to Riverland Drive.   The City and Town agreed in concept.   While the Town offered to provide an ample match of Town funds to help complete the entire project with Transportation sales tax funds, the City of Charleston has no funds for matches for sidewalk construction at this time.

However, the City of Charleston made the construction of a sidewalk along Camp Road from Folly Road to Riverland Drive a high priority request for 1/2 Cent Sales Tax Transportation funds.   The Town sent a letter of support for that request, pointing out that it was part of a larger project to complete the sidewalk from Fort Johnson to Riverland.    If that is not approved, we will continue to work with the City of Charleston to complete phase 3 of the greater project.

New Location for the JIPSD?

The JIPSD Budget Workshop on May 6 also included a presentation by local architect firm Liollio regarding a feasibility study to move all JIPSD operations from the existing Signal Point Road facility to a new campus on Dills Bluff Road.   This is the large wooded area behind the shopping center where Town Hall is located.

The budget calls for spending $621,000 next year for design work.   The actual construction is to be nearly $6.3 million.   They plan to partly fund this by selling the existing Signal Point Road facility for nearly $900,000.   However, from their budget it appears that most of this will be funded by borrowing.

The Signal Point Road Facility has the JIPSD administrative offices, including the Commissioner's meeting room.  There are also parking and repair facilities for garbage trucks as well as the facilities for the storage and repair of waste water trucks and equipment.   

At the meeting, Commissioner McMillan asked whether the zoning of the JIPSD's property on Dills Bluff Road is consistent with these uses.   The current facility on Signal Point Road is in an area zoned for Industrial purposes.    The Commissioners were told that while part of the parcel is zoned commercial, most of it is zoned residential.   The representatives from Liollio said that one of the first steps if the Commissioners choose to go forward would be to approach the Town of James Island to discuss zoning.  Commissioner Waring said that she was sure that getting a change in zoning would be easy.

Immediately behind the shopping center, lies a parcel belonging to the JIPSD that is a bit more than one acre. It is zoned Community Commercial.   Government office buildings are allowed in Community Commercial districts.   Further down Dills Bluff and adjacent to the back of the Whitehouse Plantation neighborhood is about five acres zoned residential.   Nothing currently at Signal Point Road can be placed in that area without a rezoning.   The James Island Planning Commission would make a recommendation regarding any rezoning.  There would be a public hearing, and Town Council would have two readings (votes) on an ordinance changing the zoning of one or both parcels.

Another interesting element of the presentation is that the proposed facility on Dills Bluff might include 3,000 square feet of extra office space to lease out.   Commissioner Waring asked about what type of businesses would be in this leased area.   JIPSD Administrator Wise said that they were planning to lease it to "other government entities on James Island."   I am not sure exactly what government entities they have in mind.   While Commissioner Brown-Crouch has suggested to me in general terms that we should have a joint facility shared by the JIPSD and the Town, and I have said I am open to the idea, the Town has heard nothing specific from JIPSD Chairman David Engelman, Administrator Robert Wise, or Liollio.  Perhaps they plan to lease the office space to the City of Charleston.

What do you think?   Should the JIPSD spend nearly $7 million to move from Signal Point Road to Dills Bluff Road?  Should the Town rezone the property on Dills Bluff Road from residential to industrial?   Is a more modest project, moving only the administrative offices and meeting room more reasonable?   If they do intend a shared facility with the Town, should the JIPSD discuss the matter with us?   (We had a joint Town Council/JIPSD Commissioner meeting last month, but the Commissioners didn't bring this up.) 

Please let the Commissioners know.    They are having a public hearing on the budget on June 9th.  Next year's budget includes over $600,000 for this project and then more than $6 million the next year.

Once a Week Garbage Service: JIPSD News.

I attended the JIPSD budget workshop on May 6.   The JIPSD staff presented their budget and the Commissioners discussed the proposal.

The JIPSD provides fire protection service and solid waste collection service for the Town.  They charge us 51 mils in operating property tax and 3 mils for debt service.   It adds up to a little more than $2.8 million per year.

This is a good bit less than what those in the City of Charleston pay, approximately 80 mils, but it is a good bit more than the millage of Folly Beach or the Town of Mount Pleasant.

Are we in the Town getting good value for our money?

Perhaps the biggest news from the workshop is that staff  proposed that garbage service be cut back to once a week.    They didn't propose this for the 2014-2015 budget year, but for the following year.   They estimate that they will save $370,000 per year.   On the other hand, they plan to borrow $600,000 to buy large garbage cans for everyone and more to refit the garbage trucks to pick up the large cans.

If they plan to cut back our service, how much will they cut back our taxes?

I'm sure you know the answer.  No tax cut was proposed.   It didn't cross their minds.

As the Commissioners went back and forth, I thought no one would even mention the taxpayers and voters.

What do we think?  Don't the Commissioners work for us?

Finally, Commissioner Brown-Crouch mentioned the citizens.   And then, Commissioner Platt spoke up.    He pointed out that many James Islanders appreciate the twice a week service.

I often hear the same.   Many James Islanders point to the better service as a reason for supporting the Town and remaining in the JIPSD rather than annexing into the City of Charleston.

And we continue to see efforts by the City of Charleston to annex on James Island.   The City of Charleston will be holding a meeting at the Sons of Elijah Hall on Battery Island on  May 19.  Sussan Chavis, who is managing Anna Johnson's reelection campaign, has invited the City of Charleston to speak to residents from Sol Legare, Grimball, Battery Island, and Scott Hill about annexing into the City.

The JIPSD had a first reading on their budget last Monday, May 12.   Oddly enough, they voted on it before they had a public hearing!  They scheduled the public hearing for their June 9 meeting.   Is that to be their second and final vote on the budget?   (The Town held our public hearing before our first reading in April and completed the budget process with a second and final reading at our May meeting last Thursday.)

What do you think?   You should let the Commissioners know.   Make plans to attend their public hearing on June 9.   Or contact the Commissioners.

My question is, "If you are going to cut our services, how much will you cut our taxes?"

Hurricane Expo Tomorrow at James Island Lowes

James Island – Folly Beach

Community Emergency Response Team

7^th Annual Hurricane Expo

9am to 1 pm on May 17, 2014

James Island Lowes

Come learn what you need to do before, during and after the storm. Talk to first responders and see their equipment. Learn what agencies can help you prepare and learn about ways you can help yourself, your neighbors and your community. Free give aways and plenty of fun for everyone! Bring the Kids and get Prepared!

More on the Folly Road Overlay District

County Council passed Anna Johnson's amendment to make Folly Road between Raphael Drive and Battery Island Drive Neighborhood Commercial.   Liz Singleton, former Chairman of the James Island Planning Commission and resident of the Grimball community said that the people who turned out were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping keeping the area residential.

I found Charleston County's version of the existing Folly Road Overlay District online.   As I had explained before, it was passed by County Council less than a month after the Town's incorporation referendum on June 20, 2006.  

The Town began operation about six weeks after County passed this overlay, on August 30, 2006.   Relations between the new Town and Charleston County were not good, and all county services were cut off immediately.  

The Town then reestablished the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning and Land Use Regulation Ordinance that had applied in the Town in 2004.   There was no Folly Road Overlay District in the Town's Ordinance either in 2004 or from 2006 to 2011.  As I explained before, the Town's zoning of the area between Rafael Lane and Battery Island Drive was consistent with the current base zoning.   Most of it was single family residential, with a density of three units per acre.   Nine parcels were Community Commercial.

What does the text of the County's Folly Road Overlay District actually say?    I found it on the County's Website.    Here is all of Chapter 5 of the County's Zoning and Land Use Regulation Ordinance.   There are a number of different overlay districts.   I copied the Folly Road section here.  (It starts at the bottom of the first page.)    I could see nowhere that it states that any part of the Overlay was to be rezoned to Commercial Transitional.   (I expect the County will update their online version soon.)

What about the map?   There is also a map on the County website.   I copied what was there. Here it is:

Notice that there is nothing about zoning districts.  Also, the colors are a bit off, since the Town is the light gray and the City is the darker gray and the key has them reversed.   The proposed neighborhood preservation area is shown as being in the Town.   If you look at the maps associated with the other overlay districts, they are all color-coded for zoning.

At the Public Hearing Tuesday night, something like the following map was presented:

I received this map from Charleston County Planning by email (Thanks!)  However, this version of the map, unlike the one presented at the meeting, includes the building outlines from 2012.    It also shows all of the area to be zoned Commerical Transitional.   Clearly, it was not prepared back in 2006.   Oddly, the version presented at the meeting didn't include the buildings from 2012.   

Perhaps this is the 2006 version?   Or did it just leave off the distracting 2012 building outlines?

The most interesting map was one that included the 2006 version of the entire Folly Road Overlay District.   I didn't receive a copy of that one from Charleston County planning.   This is a photo I took of the map that was at the meeting.

That is a bit hard to read.  Here is a closeup:

One interesting aspect of the map is that what is now the "South Village" portion of the overlay in the Town, which is mostly zoned office residential, was apparently rezoned by the 2006 overlay to Commercial Transitional as well.    I am very surprised that this rezoning in 2006 occurred with no outcry from the residents on Bradford Avenue.   (Of course, I find it hard to believe that what were then past and future Town Council members, Parris Williams and Cubby Wilder, would have remained silent if they had known about such a mass commercial rezoning between Rafael Lane and Battery Island Road.)

While this map shows the Town as unincorporated, it was clearly constructed sometime after 2012, because the City of Charleston is shown as having  jurisdiction over parcels that it only annexed in the spring of 2012, right before the Town was reincorporated for the fourth (and final) time.

When exactly was this map prepared?   

Why does the map currently included on the website as part of the County's Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance show no new zoning, and then just recently we have maps showing areas in the Town and in the unincorporated area zoned as Commercial Transitional?    Did County Council make this decision in 2006?   

While the text of the Overlay is pretty uncontroversial and says nothing about new zoning, rezoning these areas to Commercial Transitional would have been very controversial.   

Does anyone remember public meetings?    Did anyone go to the public hearing?   Think back..2006.   The James Island Alliance for Self-Government was campaigning for a yes vote on the referendum... We won.... Campaign for Mayor and Council....    

Public hearings to rezone Folly Road from Residential to Commercial Transitional?   Maybe no one cared because they figured the Town would soon have jurisdiction over all of the territory.

Or was the decision to zone most of the overlay Commercial Transitional made more recently?  When?  And by whom?  And why?

Of course, what difference would it have made?   We now see how County Council responds to the local community.   The new overlay district passed by Council makes the entire area neighborhood commercial.

Public Hearing Report

County Councilwoman Johnson was right, and I was wrong.  Her remarks as reported in the Post and Courier were correct.

On July 18. 2006, Charleston Council passed a Folly Road Overlay District.   While the base zoning had and continues to have nearly all parcels residential, with just a few Community Commercial parcels, the Overlay was all Commercial Transitional.   The parcels in the 2006 Overlay were the same (at least approximately the same) as in the Overlay passed by the Town last fall and before County Council for third and final reading on May 20th.

What else happened in 2006?   The Town was incorporated for the third time.  The referendum forming the Town had already passed on June 20, 2006.  Still, less than a month later, County Council passed this new Overlay District allowing commercial development on Folly Road, none of which was going to be in their jurisdiction for long.

However, the Town  could only begin operation after electing a Mayor and Council, which occurred on August 30th.    So, there was approximately a one month period during which Charleston County used this new Overlay to allow commercial development on Folly Road.

The Town adopted the County's base zoning, but never recognized this Overlay.   Members of Town Council from 2006, as well as the Chairman of our Planning Commission from the time, (all of whom were at the meeting tonight) knew nothing about it.  So, something very close the current base zoning applied between August 30 of 2006 to June 20, 2011.   That is when the Supreme Court ordered the Town closed.  Suddenly, all of us who were in the Town were now part of unincorporated Charleston County.   And the Charleston County Planning Department began to apply that long dormant Overlay District again.

When the Town reopened in August of 2012, it didn't include the Neighborhood Preservation area.   Because of questionable contiguity, Grimball, Sol Legare, and Battery Island were all left out.  (And it is one of my key goals to bring them back.   We hope to give them a chance to vote on joining us again in 2016.)

Soon work began on revising the Folly Road Overlay District from Harbor View Road to Folly Beach.   Charleston County Planning reached out to the Town to begin the process.  The proposed "Neighborhood Preservation" area would have zoning consistent with what had existed when it was in the Town, from 2006 to 2011.  

However, the current zoning in the Overlay District is Commercial Transitional.   Aside from that one month in 2006, it has been that way from June of 2011 to today--nearly three years.

It was news to me.   Councilwoman Johnson told me that she didn't know it at first either, but only found out about it more recently.

She has proposed an amendment to the "Neighborhood Preservation" Area so that it will all become Neighborhood Commercial.   This is a less intensive commercial zoning than Commercial Transitional.   Her amendment also would keep the specific uses prohibited in the area.   She also proposed allowing small hotels and motels.   And she proposed added restrictions on noise and late deliveries.

At the Public Hearing, Chairman Pryor first asked that people who live in the Neighborhood Preservation area be allowed to speak.   I thought that was very sensible, because they are most directly effected.   I thought he said that others would get to speak later.   Councilman Qualey then spoke, explaining how the Town had responded to the requests of the people in the community to prevent commercial development.   Councilwoman Johnson spoke next, explaining that the current zoning for the Overlay District was Commercial Transitional.

Then residents of the Neighborhood Preservation area were invited to speak.  I had hoped that those who don't live in the Overlay, but right next to it, in Grimball, Battery Island, and the Grimball extension areas would get a chance to speak too.

Most of those who live on Folly Road were passionate about keeping the area residential.  However, there were several who spoke in favor of giving people a choice to sell (or lease) their property for commercial uses.

Then some of the folks who lived in the wider community spoke.   Former James Island Town Councilman Parris Williams spoke against the proposal to make the zoning commercial.   Ron Middleton, a long time leader in the Grimball Community,spoke in opposition as well.   Battery Island leader, Giovanni Richardson also spoke against it.   And Liz Singleton, former chair of the James Island Planning Commission spoke in favor of keeping the zoning similar to what had existed when the area was in the Town.

I want to thank Chairman Pryor for recognizing me to speak.   I apologized to Councilwoman Johnson (and later emphasized to her that she was right and I was wrong.)   In my remarks, I pointed out that this Overlay District allowing Commercial Transitional hardly existed since the Town was formed the same year.    And that it did not apply in part of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and part of 2011.   And then what happened?   They took away our Town and suddenly, this section of Folly Road was open to commercial development.

After that, Chairman Pryor closed the meeting.   This was very controversial, with many people from all over James Island wanting to speak.   Councilwoman Condon and Councilman Qualey urged that others get to speak too.

What will happen next?    Third reading of the Folly Road Overlay District will be at the County Council meeting at 6:30 on May 20th.   Chairman Pryor said that others who wanted to speak would be welcome to speak then.

Folly Road Overlay District : Neighborhood Preservation Area

On Monday, the Post and Courier published an article on the proposed Folly Road Overlay District.   It was mostly false.

The Town adopted the Overlay District last fall.   County Council has completed two readings (votes) and was scheduled for a third and final reading.   That was postponed so that County Council could hold a public hearing on James Island.   The hearing is on Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30 pm at the Sons of Elijah Lodge at 1831 Folly Road.

The Post and Courier article was full of inaccuracies.    To start, the date was wrong.   The article said the public hearing was to be last night rather than tonight.  (That has been corrected on the online version. Thank you P&C.)

The focus of the article, and apparently the emphasis of the public hearing, will be the "Neighborhood Preservation" area of the Overlay.   It runs between Raphael Lane and Battery Island Drive.    This is an area that begins a bit before the Brickhouse Restaurant and ends a bit before the Harris Teeter.  The Sons of Elijah Lodge is next to the JIPSD Fire Station, which is on the south end of the Neighborhood Preservation area.

Some of the parcels in this area are in the City of Charleston, and it includes the old junk yard which is being redeveloped into an apartment complex.   Most of the parcels used to be in the Town of James Island, but because of questionable contiguity, they were not included in the current incorporation.   These parcels are in the James Island Public Service District, and Senate Bill 723 and House Bill 4265 would allow for an election to be held in 2016 that would return those areas to the Town.   For now, these parcels are in unincorporated Charleston County, so County Council determines their zoning.

The article quotes Councilwoman Johnson as stating that the parcels along Folly Road are currently zoned Commercial Transitional.   She said that she wanted to rezone them as Neighborhood Commercial.   The article said that the Folly Road Overlay District would rezone them as residential.    Councilwoman Johnson is quoted as saying that this downzoning to residential would greatly reduce property values in the area.

All of this is mistaken.

No parcel in the area is zoned Commercial Transitional.   Instead, nine of the parcels are zoned as Community Commerical, which is the most intensive commercial zoning in the County.  (The Town has very similar zoning in the area near the Camp and Folly intersection.)   Nearly all of those commercial parcels are around the Brickhouse Restaurant.   There are only three parcels currently zoned Community Commercial south of the corner of Folly and South Grimball/Grimball Ext. Roads.

All of the other parcels, approximately 90 percent of them, are currently zoned S-3.   This is zoning for single family residential development, with a density of 3 units per acre.   It is very similar to the zoning that applies in most of the Town, and was the zoning that applied when these parcels were in the Town just three years ago.   The Folly Road Overlay District "Neighborhood Preservation" area would make no change in the zoning of nearly all (about 90 percent) of the parcels.   How could this reduce their value?

What about the nine parcels currently zoned as Community Commercial?   These would be rezoned to Neighborhood Commercial.   This is a commercial district less intensive that Community Commercial.  However, all of the businesses that have existed on those few parcels, such as restaurants and small shops, would be permitted in Neighborhood Commercial.

The County's version of the Overlay includes a list of prohibited uses.   The Town removed these extra prohibitions from its version of the Overlay.   None of the prohibited uses are permitted in residential zones anyway, and most of them aren't permitted in Neighborhood Commercial either.

The article had a photo and included some quotes from the Gilliard family.   The grandson complained that their property would be rezoned from commercial to residential.   In fact, their property is currently zoned residential (S-3) so there would be no change in their zoning.

So, what is really happening?

Developers want to build apartments and businesses in this area.   They need a change in the existing zoning of nearly all of these parcels.

Just last week, I was looking at a 9 acre parcel in this area as a possible site for a new Town park.  The property is across Folly Rd. from the Brickhouse Restaurant.  The real estate agent told us that he had two developers looking at the site to build apartments.   I was a bit surprised, because I thought it was zoned for single family development.   It is.   Like nearly all the parcels in the area, it is S-3.

For now.    If the developers can get it rezoned, then maybe they really will pay the $3 million asking price.   (This is a good bit more than the $1 million that the Town could pay for a park or its value for single family development.)

I plan to attend the public hearing and listen closely to what the people in the community want.

Here is a  diagram of the existing zoning.   The brown is S-3 and the red is Community Commercial.

Tax Credit News

The South Carolina Department of Revenue has determined that they do not have the authority to answer the questions I asked about tax credit proposals.   They did not directly contact the Town but rather told an assistant attorney general, who called me.   She said that now that the Town has asked SCDOR and they said they cannot answer, it is appropriate for the Attorney General's Office to answer our questions.   She also said she will be working on this next week.

Post and Courier on Property Tax Credits

The Post and Courier published a good article about the property tax credits here.

Unfortunately, it included, "Under state law, the town could keep the money and use it for operating expenses, Woolsey said."

If I said that, I misspoke.

State law is unclear.   The practice in South Carolina  has been for municipalities without a property tax to spend all LOST funds.   

However, nothing in the LOST statutes authorizes that practice.   It has never been litigated, so no court has approved spending the money.   There is no Attorney General opinion on the practice.   And the SCDOR has never given an official legal opinion on the matter.   

The most "official" guidance is an SCDOR draft opinion from 1995.   That opinion at least implied that it would be illegal for a municipality to spend the funds and further, it specifically states that mailing out rebate checks is illegal.  Intererstingly, it was requested by the first Town, and the draft opinion "approves" of a plan for the Charleston County Auditor to place a credit against JIPSD taxes on the bills, with the Town directly paying the amount of the credit to the JIPSD.    However, it was only a draft opinion that was never finalized.

Here is what the statute says: SC 4-10-40 states in part:

(B)(1) All of the revenue received by a county and municipality from the Property Tax Credit Fund must be used to provide a credit against the property tax liability of taxpayers in the county and municipality in an amount determined by multiplying the appraised value of the taxpayer's taxable property by a fraction in which the numerator is the total estimated revenue received by the county or municipality from the Property Tax Credit Fund during the applicable fiscal year of the political subdivision and the denominator is the total of the appraised value of taxable property in the county or municipality as of January 1 of the applicable taxable year.

Note that is says "must be used."    It doesn't say that it must be used to provide a credit against the property tax imposed by the municipality.   It rather it says it must be used to provide a credit against the property tax liability of taxpayers "in" the county and municipality.   We have been working on that angle, but are seeking guidance from SCDOR.

The most straightforward approach is for the Town to provide a credit against its own property tax.    By having the Town collect a millage in its own jurisdiction and pay the JIPSD for fire protection and solid waste collection, the credit can be applied exactly as it does in other municipalities.    The taxpayers pay less to the County Treasurer, the County Treasurer sends less to the Town, and then the Town uses the funds from the Property Tax Credit Fund along with the property tax receipts to pay for services.   The Town can pay the JIPSD for the services we currently receive.

JIPSD Chairman was quoted as saying:

Engelman said the commission's attorney has said that would be illegal. And he simply doesn't like the idea. "I like to keep things separate," he said.

The Town has asked for an SCDOR legal opinion on Trent Kernodle's argument that it is illegal for the Town to pay the JIPSD for services.    However, Chairman Engelman makes it clear that the real problem is that he doesn't want it to happen.   "I like to keep things separate."    Commissioner Welch said about the same at the joint Town Council/Commissioner meeting last month.    He said that the Town's proposal is "just silly."    I had hoped that he would agree to reconsider based upon the legal guidance we were seeking from the state.   But it was clear that it didn't matter what the Attorney General or SCDOR says.   The majority of JIPSD Commissioners just don't want to work with the Town to provide a tax credit.

David Engelman, chairman of the James Island PSD, said he thinks the town should again send checks. If that's a difficult task, the town should hire a consultant to do it."

During the third incorporation, the Town always paid a contractor to print and mail property tax rebate checks.   The administrative nightmare wasn't printing or mailing the checks.   It was correcting all of the errors in the aftermath.   Yes the IRS mails out rebate checks.   They make everyone file, right?    They audit people and put them in jail for misrepresenting their income.   

Worse, the Town never attempted to mail property tax rebate checks for cars and boats.   But the LOST statute mandates tax credits for all property subject to tax. 

In my view, spending money that the statute states must be used for tax credits would be irresponsible without better legal guidance.  Also, mailing out rebate checks when the closest thing we have to a legal opinion from the SCDOR says that it would be illegal is a mistake.   Hopefully, we will get further legal guidance from SCDOR.   If necessary, we will return to the Attorney General.   Finally, we may need a declaratory judgement from a court.   And then we will go forward.

The people in the Town of James Island pay 54 mils property tax to the JIPSD.   While this is lower than the property tax millage imposed by the City of Charleston, it is higher than that levied by the City of Folly Beach or the Town of Mount Pleasant.    The people of the Town of James Island deserve the full property tax relief promised when the sales tax was increased due to LOST.   I remain committed to proving that tax relief to the people of the Town.

Property Tax Credit

The Town of James Island receives between $50,000 to $80,000 each month from the the Local Option Sales Tax Property Tax Credit Fund.   We began receiving those checks three months after we began operations in August of 2012.   The total amount received is approximately $1.1 million.   Through the end of the fiscal year in June, we should have nearly $1.3 million.   I believe that these funds should be used to provide a tax credit.    If we could do so, the result would be an approximate  25 percent property tax cut for a homeowner.   The property tax cut for businesses, rental property, and cars would be closer to 9 percent and for boats and other personal property it would be 6 percent.

The Town proposed that it collect the operating property tax millage in place of the James Island PSD and then directly pay them an equivalent amount (approximately $2.7 million per year) for fire protection and solid waste collection.   Unfortunately, 5 of the 7 Commissioners rejected that approach.    Commissioner Carter McMillan is willing to work with the Town to provide a tax credit.   While Commissioner Brown-Crouch abstained when the majority of Commissioners voted to send a letter to the Town rejecting our proposal, she has since been open to working with the Town.  

The letter the JIPSD sent to the Town raised legal issues regarding our proposal.   The Town requested an Attorney General's opinion on various legal issues surrounding the proposal.

We received a response.   The Town asked if a substitution of the Town's millage for the JIPSD millage would violate the millage cap.   This is a state law that limits any increase in millage to the previous year's inflation rate and population growth.

The Attorney General's opinion is that it does violate the letter of the law, but that because taxpayers would face the same total millage and pay less tax due to the provision of a LOST tax credit, a court might determine that the Legislature did not intend to prohibit such a substitution.    The Attorney General recommended that the Town seek a declaratory judgement from a court before substituting a Town millage for the JIPSD millage.   The Town's attorney, Bo Wilson, is looking into the procedure for obtaining a declaratory judgement.   He estimates that the legal cost would be less than $5,000.   In my view, only when there is a majority of JIPSD Commissioners willing to work with the Town to provide a property tax credit should we go forward.  If a court determines that such a solution is  contrary to the statute, then we will need to reach out to Representative McCoy and Senators Thurmond and Campsen yet again.

The JPSD said that it would be illegal for them to receive any funds from the local option sales tax.   The Attorney General's opinion was that this should be determined by the South Carolina Department of Revenue.   I wrote the Director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue asking for an advisory opinion on whether funds the Town received from the LOST property tax credit fund could be received by other governmental entities in exchange for the provision of services.   I also asked whether the LOST statute would prohibit the Town from depositing funds we receive from the LOST Property Tax Fund with the County Treasurer, and having those funds be used to compensate either Charleston County or else the JIPSD, for a property tax credit against the millage they charge in the Town's jurisdiction.   We are waiting for a response from the Department of Revenue.

When I first became Mayor in 2010, we had a training session for Council by the Municipal Association of South Carolina.   We asked whether the Town was required to provide a property tax credit.   Their response was that because the Town had no property tax, we were free to use the money as we choose.   There are many municipalities in South Carolina with no property tax and they spend all of the LOST money they receive on current operations.   This practice greatly influenced my thinking regarding LOST.   While I have always been committed to providing property tax relief to our citizens, I saw this as a Town policy.

As I have reviewed the law myself over the last few months, I have become much less confident that standard practice in South Carolina is consistent with the LOST statute.   I think that the most responsible course is to save all of the funds the Town receives from the LOST Property Tax Credit Fund until either the Town introduces a property tax or else we receive clear guidance from the South Carolina Department of Revenue regarding some alternative means of providing a credit against the liability of taxpayers in the Town.

Town of James Island "Leash Law"

The Town adopted the Charleston County's "Livability Code" by referernce.   This is what would sometimes be called a "leash law."  The entire section is here.

These are the rules that applied in the area of the Town before we were incorporated.   By adopting this Code by reference, the rules applying to the residents and animals in the Town remained the same.

Here are some excerpts.   First, animals "running at large" can be taken and euthanized:

Sec. 3-5. Impoundment of pets running at large; disposition.

(a) Any pet or dangerous pet running at large may be impounded by the animal control officer or any of the persons empowered to enforce this chapter and transported to the county animal shelter, or to any other nonprofit animal shelter designated by county council, and there impounded and confined until redeemed or disposed of as hereinafter provided. If an animal is transported to an animal shelter other than the Charleston Animal Society, the redemption fee cited in section 3-6 below shall not be collected.

(b) Immediately after impounding any properly tagged pet, the animal control officer and/or animal shelter operator shall make a reasonable effort to notify the owner in writing or by telephone of its impoundment and to inform the owner of the conditions whereby he can regain custody of the pet.

(c) At-large animals and pets shall be either euthanized after five working days, or placed for adoption at the discretion of the animal shelter operator (Charleston Animal Society).

The owner is subject to a summons and fine for letting an animal run free:

(b) An animal control officer shall issue a summons if there is probable cause to believe that a violation of any provision of this chapter has been violated, including the following violations:

(11) Allowing animals to run free, break loose, or escape in any manner;

The ordinance also requires that animals be restrained:

Sec. 3-11. Restraint.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any owner or custodian of any animal to permit same to run at large at any time upon streets or highways or properties other than his own property within the county. Such owner or custodian shall comply with the definition of "restraint" in section 3-1

(b) It shall be unlawful to keep a dangerous dog in any manner not allowed under section 47-3-610, et seq., Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976.

Here are some definitions:

At large means an animal which is off the property and/or premises of the owner or keeper and not under physical control by owner or keeper by means of a leash or restraint.

A dog that attacks cats is dangerous:

Dangerous animal means an animal which:

(1) The owner knows, or reasonably should know, has a propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack unprovoked, cause injury, or otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals;

Restraint means when a pet or animal is confined to the premises of its owner or keeper by fence, chain, or other appropriate measure, on the premises of its owner or keeper, or when a pet is accompanied by owner or keeper and is physically controlled by a leash or similar physical device.

Sec. 3-18. Nuisances.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess, or maintain an animal in such a manner as to constitute a public nuisance or a nuisance to neighbors. By way of example and not of limitation, the following acts or actions of an owner, harborer or possessor of an animal are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and therefore unlawful:

(b) (1) Having an animal that disturbs the rights of, threatens the safety of, or damages a member of the general public, or interferes with the ordinary use and enjoyment of their property, or public property; or

(2) Allowing or permitting an animal to damage the property of anyone other than its owner, including, but not limited to, turning over garbage containers or damaging gardens, flowers or vegetables, or repeatedly defecating upon the property of another; or

(3) Maintaining animals in an environment of unsanitary conditions or lack of cleanliness which results in offensive odor or is dangerous to the public health, welfare or safety, or a failure to maintain a condition of good order and cleanliness which reduces the probability of transmission of disease; or

(4) Maintaining property that is offensive, annoying or dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare of the community because of the number, type, variety, density or location of the animals on the property; or

(5) Allowing or permitting an animal to bark, whine or howl in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion so as to interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment of neighboring premises; or

(6) Maintaining an animal that is diseased and dangerous to the public health; or


(7) Maintaining an animal that habitually or repeatedly chases, snaps at, threatens, attacks or barks at pedestrians, joggers, dogs walked on a leash by owners, bicycles, or vehicles; or

Charleston County Animal Control, under the direction of the Sheriff's Office, enforces all of these regulations in the Town.   While you can and should contact them directly, please let Town Hall know about any problems.   

Sec. 3-44. Penalty.


Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500.00 or not more than 30 days in jail, or both.

With court costs, it runs a bit over $1,000.

James Island Public Service District Proposed Budget

Here is a copy of the budget proposed by the JIPSD staff.    Thank the Commissioners for putting this on the web, and especially Commissioner McMillan who proposed putting it on the web.

Camp Road Sidewalks

The Town had requested Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax funds to complete Phase I of the Camp Road sidewalk Project.  This phase was to connect the sidewalk that will be extended along Fort Johnson Road to the corner of Dills Bluff and Camp by Town Hall.

It looks like this project will go forward.   Because of issues in obtaining right-of-way on Fort Johnson, Charleston County has proposed shifting the route of the sidewalk so that it will go down Camp to the corner of Dills Bluff and Camp and then go down Dills Bluff back to Fort Johnson.    This would complete Phase I of the Camp Road project.    The Town is also very interested in including sidewalks on Dills Bluff.   There is sufficient existing right-of-way to complete this route.  

On the whole, this "Camp and Dills Bluff" bypass will do more to complete the sidewalk network in the Town than would a more direct route down Fort Johnson.   We will put completing the sidewalk along Fort Johnson between Camp and Dills Bluff on our "to do" list.  

I plan to request funding from Town Council in May to do the design work for Phase II of the Camp Road project.  Phase II runs between the new side walk that was installed as part of the intersection improvements for Camp and Dills Bluff to the end of the existing sidewalk near Secessionville Road.    After the design work is complete, we will work to get it constructed.

The City of Charleston has requested Transportation Sales Tax money to complete the sidewalk between Camp and Folly and Riverland Drive.   The Town wrote a letter in support of that project, which includes substantial Town jurisdiction between the shopping center at Camp and Folly, in front of Fort Johnson Middle and then past that on  to Yorktown.  City jurisdiction starts just past there in front of Biship Gadsden and then on to Riverland Drive.  That is Phase III for the Town.   If the City's proposal isn't funded, we will continue to work to get the Town's segment completed.

The full Camp Road project is to have a sidewalk along Camp Road from Fort Johnson to Riverland.   We hope that sidewalk access to James Island County Park along Riverland Drive will become possible soon as well.