Solid Waste Proposal--Cooperation

The James Island Public Service District Commission and the City of Charleston have been working on a plan to provide more efficient solid waste collection in our community. The effort is being spearheaded by Commissioner Meredith Poston, chair of the Commission's Solid Waste Committee, and Charleston City Councilwoman Carol Jackson.

Everyone on James Island has observed that in many neighborhoods, two sets of garbage trucks go down the street each week. One truck picks up at homes with the brown roller bins, and then another truck comes on another day and picks up at homes with the green roller bins.

In my opinion, this is the most blatant example of waste and duplication of public services on our Island.

The proposed solution is simple. The JIPSD will pick up garbage and yard debris for homes in both the Town and in the City in one area. In exchange, the City will pick up the garbage and yard debris for homes in both the Town and the City in another area. The total number of homes served by the JIPSD and the City will remain the same, but by coordinating their efforts, both will save on fuel and time. Instead of the JIPSD trucks going down a street and picking up garbage and yard debris for those in the Town and passing by the City homes and then the City trucks going by and picking up just the City and passing by Town homes another day, only one set of trucks will go down each street.

It is just commons sense. I support this proposal 100%.

The Solid Waste Committee of the JIPSD Commission will consider a limited pilot program to test the proposal on Monday night, August 26 at 6:30 PM. The Committee recommendation is scheduled to come before the full Commission at 7:00 PM that same night.

The test area will be for a neighborhood that is mostly annexed to the City with only a few homes in the Town that will be covered by the City and a nearby neighborhood mostly in the Town with only a few homes annexed to the City that will be covered by the JIPSD. Both neighborhoods are near Harbor View Road. The target date for the test is October.

Can we please try some cooperation between the City of Charleston and the James Island Public Service District?

Call 911 to Report Sewer Spills

On August 14, there was a major sewer spill next to Harbor View Road.  There was a break in a pressurized sewer line belonging to the Charleston Water System.  Raw sewage entered a tributary of James Island Creek between the Ellis Creek Fish Camp and the Harbor Creek Condominiums. 

We need citizen help.  Please promptly report sewer spills.   If you observe a spill call 911.  Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch will contact the proper wastewater utility to provide emergency repairs.   Charleston Water System and the James Island Public Service District both provide sewer service on James Island.  All the sewage is treated by Charleston Water System at Plum Island.

Getting emergency repairs started as soon as possible should be our priority.  However, DHEC (South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control) also encourages citizens to report sewer spills to them.  The technical term is Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO.)  For James Island you would call North Charleston DHEC Office at 843-953-0150.    SSO reports are not unusual in Charleston County and are often associated with heavy rains or major storms. 

Call 911 first and then call DHEC at (843) 953-0150.

Please help your local government protect our waterways.

Map of Sewer Spill

View of Repair Site on Harbor View Road

View of Repair Site from Harbor Creek Condominiums

James Islanders--Please Let Me Serve Another Term

Dear James Islanders,

I am seeking reelection as your Mayor.

There are some important tasks that I believe I should complete.

All are important for the well-being of our Island.

• Reunite the Town
• Tax Relief
• Drainage Improvements
• Law Enforcement
• Address Pollution of James Island Creek
• Sidewalks and Bike Paths
• Park Improvements

Progress has been made in all of these areas, but many Town initiatives are incomplete.

Please give me the opportunity to serve you.

Thank you.

Mayor Bill Woolsey

JIPSD Property Taxes and TOJI Planning and Zoning

The Post and Courier weighed in on conflict amoung the James Island Public Service District Commissioners about their budget and property tax millage.  The Commission Chair replied.  Little light was shed by either.

A majority of Commissioners believed that the 13% property tax increase adopted in 2018 was more than necessary for the two stated purposes--increased pay for firefighter recruits and replacement of the current fire station on Camp Road. There was also concern that the cost of the new fire station on Folly Road was excessive--more than $8 million. They sought to reduce property tax by 2 mils to what they believed was necessary at this time--which would have left approximately 75% of last year's increase intact.

No Commissioner took the position that the District could operate forever with no millage increase.   Their view was that property taxes should be levied as necessary to fund expenditures approved by the Commission--not based upon possible future expenditures requested by the District staff.

The Post and Courier's take was that it is all the Town of James Island's fault--for existing. If the people of James Island had not decided to "go it alone" and were part of the the City of Charleston, there would be no need to raise JIPSD property taxes.  I suppose they believe that the cost of public services on James Island would be paid by those in the rest of the City.

It is true that if everyone on James Island annexed to the City, no one would pay JIPSD property tax--we would all pay City property tax. However, JIPSD property tax for homeowners only surpassed that in the City for the first time last year.  The reason City homeowners paid less despite a higher millage is they benefit from a local option sales tax credit.   Because of the way that credit is distributed, those of us in the JIPSD continued to pay less than those in the City on our cars and boats as did owners of business and rental property.

More importantly, the increase in the City's millage last year pushed the property tax burden on City homeowners back above that in the JIPSD.  Annexing to the City is no way to save on property tax. Sure, more James Island costs could be pushed onto taxpayers in the rest of the City, but James Islanders who annex to the City must pay a share of the very heavy cost of providing services elsewhere.

The Post and Courier recommended that the Commissioners ask the Town to change our planning and zoning to allow more commercial and multi-family development.  Its theory appears to be that intense development of our Island would increase property values and tax revenue for the JIPSD.

The Town already encourages businesses to open and supports redevelopment in what we call our "Commercial Core" centered at the Camp and Folly intersection.  The Town has worked with the City of Charleston and Charleston County to adopt the Folly Road Overlay and continues to work with other jurisdictions to implement the Rethink Folly Road Plan.  Those efforts aim to improve the Town's commercial district which would tend to generate more revenue for the JIPSD and the Town from a variety of sources.

Most of the Town is zoned single family residential and our density is three units per acre. We have only a few multi-family complexes that already existed when the Town was formed.  However, the Town is mostly built out and our zoning simply reflects the residential patterns and densities that currently exist.  I doubt whether rezoning the few vacant lots in the Town to multifamily would significantly increase property tax revenue.

What this is really about is the Post and Courier's commitment to so-called "smart growth" with James Island being slated for dense urbanization so that outlying areas such as Wadmalaw and Edisto Islands can remain rural.  James Islanders are fine with keeping those areas rural, but few, if any, favor a complete change in the character of our Island.   I certainly don't.

If we compare the cost of providing new infrastructure and services in outlying rural areas to the cost of providing it on a hypothetical hyper-dense James Island, the second might well be cheaper.  But the JIPSD is not going to pay for any services off of James Island and it would have to bear the cost of the added infrastructure necessary if we were to allow developers to raze our existing neighborhoods and replace them with giant gathering places similar to what the City encouraged in what it annexed on Maybank near Folly.

There are three reason why the JIPSD  must raise its millage from time to time.  First, unlike municipalities and counties, its enabling act provides very limited sources of revenue.  Fire protection and solid waste collection are solely funded by property tax.  Second, the State of South Carolina requires a millage rollback with every five-year reassessment of property values.  Third, the Federal Reserve targets a 2% inflation rate.

Inflation raises the dollar value of property and so a given millage should raise more revenue each year. However, SC law requires that the property values be reassessed every five years.  With 2% inflation, that means that amount collected would stay the same for five years and the suddenly jump a bit more than 10%.  But SC law also requires a millage rollback, which means each local government is left with an unchanged revenue after each reassessment.  Unfortunately, inflation is causing that constant dollar amount of revenue to lose 2% of its purchasing power each year.

To keep up with inflation, the JIPSD must periodically raise its millage.  All local governments have this problem, but it hits the JIPSD especially hard because it depends so much on property tax. Inflation raises costs for the Town too, but as prices rise, so does the total dollar value of sales and so the amount the Town collects in business licenses, franchise fees, and sales tax.  There is no sudden jump every five years nor is there a mandated roll back of rates.   

That is why Town is working with the Commissioners to provide a credit against the JIPSD property tax. The Town's other sources of revenue can be used to help pay for the fire protection and solid waste collection services the JIPSD provides our residents rather than depending solely on their property taxes. If the Commissioners approve the Cost Sharing Agreement with the Town in August, the property taxes homeowners in the Town pay the JIPSD will be approximately 30% lower than in the City of Charleston.  And all without completely changing the character of James Island.

Public Hearing on Tax Credit Plan

The Town will hold a public hearing on the proposed Cost Sharing Agreement with the James Island Public Service District at our regular meeting on Thursday, August 15 at 7:00 at the James Island Town Hall. 

Town Council approved an ordinance and a draft agreement at our July meeting.  I have scheduled second and final reading for our August meeting.   If Council approves the agreement and the JIPSD Commission does as well, then we should see an approximate 15% saving on the property tax bills that will be sent to Town homeowners in October.

The Cost Sharing Agreement creates a process by which the Town will pay the JIPSD each month for part of the cost of providing solid waste collection and fire protection within the jurisdiction of the Town in exchange for the District allowing the Town to provide a tax credit on the JIPSD line on the property tax bills sent by the County Auditor in Town's tax district. The agreement distributes the credits to Town property taxpayers in proportion to their appraised taxable property values, following the procedure of the Local Option Sales Tax credits. The total amount the Town pays the JIPSD for services each year will be equal to the total amount of the credits on all the property tax bills in the Town.   As a result, property taxpayers in the Town will pay less to the JIPSD, but the money paid by the Town to the JIPSD will result in it getting the same amount of revenue, allowing it to cover the cost of providing services to Town residents.

The Town will also  pay the District a 1% administrative fee each year and deposit $10,000 with the District to cover any credits charged to the District's tax fund balance at the County Treasurer's office. This would happen if the proper credit is left off of some property taxpayer's bill and the County Treasurer debited the District's tax revenue account rather than bill the Town.

The budget approved by Town Council in May allocated $1 million for payments for JIPSD services this year. The Cost Sharing Agreement will result in payments by the Town to the District of $83,334 each month. The 1% administrative fee will be $10,000. The total of the tax credits on all the property tax bills in the Town will be $1 million. 

For a Town of James Island homeowner, the result will be a 30% reduction in the property tax paid to the JIPSD.  For an average James Island home (appraised at $250,000,) that will be a $200 saving. Since JIPSD property tax is slightly less than half of the total property tax for a homeowner, the percent reduction overall will be approximately 15%. Property taxes for homeowners in the Town will also be approximately 15% less than for those in the City of Charleston. 

There will also be property tax savings for cars and boats as well as businesses and rental properties.   Because of the higher assessment ratios for those properties and other state credits provided to homeowners, the percent savings will be lower.

While the direct financial benefit to the JIPSD is the $10,000 administrative fee, it will also reap an additional financial benefit because the Town will pay part of the cost of services on behalf of our residents even when some of  Town taxpayers fail to pay.   Since the collection rate in the Town is approximately 95%, the District will collect approximately $50,000 per year more as long as the program continues. 

The Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding that approved the tax credit plan in concept last spring and agreed to joint representation of the Town and the District by the Pope Flynn Law Group. The District's outside Auditor is working with our joint attorney from Pope Flynn to add a provision to review a sample of tax bills each year to make sure that the credits are properly applied. The County Auditor and County Treasurer have approved the tax credit plan, but both the Town and the Commission need to pass the needed ordinance on first reading before the end of August.  The deadline for the October tax bills is coming up fast. 

 The Town has already passed first reading and will be ready for second reading on August 15.  The JIPSD Commission meeting is Monday, August 26. 

I remain optimistic that we will see significant tax relief for Town homeowners on the October property tax bills.

Car Break-Ins

James Island is suffering from another of our periodic episodes of car break-ins.   The criminals go down the street looking for unlocked cars.   If the car is locked, they move on.  If it is unlocked, they rummage through the car looking fore something valuable.   We get reports of stolen handguns, laptops, and smart phones. 

The problem started several months ago, and I told Sargent Shawn James, coordinator of the Island Sheriff's Patrol, that catching these criminals is our top priority.  The Island Sheriff's Patrol are Sheriff's Deputies that the Town pays for extra law enforcement in our area. Sheriff Cannon has also directed more of his resources at this problem.  And the City of Charleston Police Department is also working closely with our Deputies to catch the criminals.

In the past, a criminal is caught and jailed.   The problem goes away for a time.   And then some new criminal starts, or else sadly, a criminal gets out of jail and goes back to stealing.  Sometime the criminals are from James Island, other times they are travelling here from somewhere else in the Lowcountry every night.

One of our Island Sheriff Patrol Officers caught three criminals breaking into a car a few weeks ago.   They were juveniles and they were released to their parents, though they will be brought before a judge and subject to punishment.   Usually, that process takes a long time and I have no report on the disposition of the case. Thankfully, the break-ins slowed down.

It is my understanding, that the problem was not solely the three who were caught.   There is a much larger group involved.   And the Island Sheriff's Patrol and City Police have not stopped looking for more criminals.   At the July Town Council meeting, Detectives from both the Sheriff's Department and the Charleston Police Department reported that they were working together to solve this problem. 

During the last week, the break-ins are back at the higher rate of a few weeks ago.  Sadly, the lull was only temporary.

On Tuesday, August 6, it is time again for National Night Out.   There will be a gathering at James Island Town Hall.   The purpose of the event is to bring the community and law enforcement together.   There will be police and fire equipment to see, hot dogs, snowcones, and a jump castle. 

But on a more serious note, representatives of the James Island Neighborhood Council will be on hand to sign people up for neighborhood watch.   Please come and sign up to become involved in your neighborhood--especially crime watch.

If you hear noises, your dogs start barking, look out the window.   If you see something suspicious late at night--call 911.  It is very likely that we have law enforcement on James Island just waiting for a call so they can find these criminals.

If you check out your car and someone has gone through your glove box, be sure to call it in.  Call 843-743-7200.  It is helpful to know where the criminals have been active.   

And most importantly, lock all of your cars every night.  These criminals don't seem to be breaking into houses yet (or much,) but lock your doors too--every night.   While they are passing buy locked cars, don't leave valuables in the car, especially where they can be seen.   While they mostly pass locked cars by, they might not if they see some valuable loot.

If we work together, with our local law enforcement, we can catch these criminals.

Street Sign Repair

Do the street signs in your neighborhood need to be replaced, repaired or cleaned?   The Town of James Island began installing and maintaining street signs in its area of jurisdiction on July 1 of this year.   Town Public Works staff has inventoried all of the street signs in the Town and will begin a systematic program of repair and replacement. 

We also depend on our Town residents to report problems with street signs.   You can fill out a work order online:

www.jamesislandsc.us/work-order-request

Or call Town Hall at (843)795-4141 to report a problem.

In the past, street sign maintenance had been one of the James Island Public Service District's responsibilities funded by their property tax. With the  large increase in the JIPSD property tax last year, the Town offered to take over this responsibility both to take a small burden off of District taxpayers and to allow expanded funding to catch up on some deferred maintenance.   It turns out that Charleston County Public Works has been replacing and repairing street signs in the unincorporated area of the District all along.   The majority of Commissioners voted to cease using District taxpayer funds to provide this service.   James Island Town Council voted unanimously to provide this service in the area of the Town at our June meeting.