City jumps fees, adds debt millage
By Tommy Howard
thoward@gtowntimes.com
Taxpayers, residents and businesses will all pay more to the City of Georgetown in the coming year.
During Thursday's regular meeting of Georgetown City Council, members approved a debt millage to generate $420,000 for capital projects. Every taxpayer for the city will see that increase.
Also, council approved double-digit hikes in water and wastewater fees.
Water rates will go up by 12.9 percent, while wastewater rates will go up by 15.9 percent.
And, looking ahead to November, Santee Cooper plans a rate increase of approximately 7.5 percent. That's what the utility charges the city's electric department, so that rate hike will be passed along to the city's electric customers.
The city's budget for the coming year is $33.1 million, and is a balanced budget.
Steel mill closure
The water rate increase will bring in $218,000 more for the city, and the wastewater increase will add $288,000 revenue to the city.
Both of these rate hikes are designed to make up for the loss of revenue from the already-announced closure of ArcelorMittal's steel mill in Georgetown in mid-July.
Not happy
Harriet Hunt is not a bit happy with the rate hikes.
A resident of South Hazard Street, she spoke briefly during the "public comment" portion of the council meeting.
She spoke about traffic.
"I'm sick and tired of the large trucks coming through this residential area," she told council. She's talked with the police, and plans to keep records of those calls.
"If one of those children [who lives in the neighborhood] is hit by a truck, I'm seeing to it that the parents institute a suit against the city," she said.
She sat through the 90-minute council meeting, and sought out a reporter afterwards to complain about the budget.
"That's my tax money. I didn't have an opportunity to talk about it."
She said the agenda for the meeting had "Public Comment" as an item, but then they didn't listen to the public, she said.
There was a "Public Hearing" at 5 p.m. No one asked to speak at the hearing, and council adjourned until the regular 5:30 p.m. meeting.
When told of that, Hunt said she didn't know about the earlier public hearing.
She talked with several members of council afterwards about what she saw as not being able to speak during the meeting.
Impact on taxpayers, utility customers
The 11.5 mils for debt millage for capital projects includes significant updates to the Fire Department's Haz-Mat truck, a fire staff pick-up truck, extrication tool, two new police patrol cars, improvements to the public works building, software, park improvements and $6,500 for attorney's fees.
The operating millage for the city will cost the owner of a $100,000 house $361.20 in city taxes. The debt millage for that same house will be an additional $45.84.
When Mayor Lynn Wood Wilson first called for a vote to approve the budget, it failed with three votes in favor and four votes against it.
After much discussion and parliamentary maneuvering, Councilman Rudolph Bradley offered a motion to reconsider the vote.
Ultimately, Bradley, Wilson, Jack Scoville and Brendon Barber voted to approve the budget. Peggy Wayne, C.C. Smalls and Paige Sawyer voted no.
On the separate rate hike ordinances the vote was the same.
Bradley, Wilson, Scoville and Barber voted to approve the water and wastewater fee increases. Wayne, Smalls and Sawyer voted against raising the rates.
Rate study
Later in the meeting, council approved spending up to $75,000 for a consultant to conduct a rate study for water, wastewater and electric rates charged by the city.
Wayne and Smalls pointed out that the city had an electric rate study about three years ago.
"We should have had a study before we increased the rate," she said in referring to the earlier votes in the meeting. She and Smalls voted against paying for the rate study, but it passed by a 5 to 2 vote.
Fees : 6/21/2009
Another tax increase that the city is hiding. Thanks! We can not support the steel mill for ever and this is the city way of covering it.