County homeowners to see property-tax cut

BY GINNY SKALSKI, The Island Packet
Published Tuesday, August 29, 2006

BEAUFORT -- When property tax bills arrive in October, they'll be slightly less than the Beaufort County Council initially planned.

The council voted unanimously Monday to reduce taxes by 1.5 mills for the current fiscal year because the county took in more revenue than expected. That saves about $6 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

Property taxes still will rise sharply, however, to pay for the Beaufort County School District, which has to replace $15.6 million in state aid it has lost because of funding formulas based largely on property values. The council reaffirmed its decision Monday to raise millage for schools by 18.3 percent to 91.7 mills.

Council members continued to blast the South Carolina legislature Monday during their budget discussion, saying it's unfair that the county receives significantly less state funding than other school districts. Beaufort was the only county in the state to lose money under the education funding formula.

"The amount of stupidity exhibited by the legislature in this whole deal really is an embarrassment to the state," Councilman Frank Brafman said, in reference to a new state law that will fund schools through sales taxes instead of property taxes. "I'm sure they'll end up fixing some of it, but the taxpayers have already been sandbagged with the $15 million."

The council also rejected a school district plan to move about $3 million from the district's debt-service fund, which is used to pay off debt, to its general fund, which pays for operating costs. Although the move would not have affected taxpayers, it would have kept the district from having to dip into its general-fund balance, which essentially serves as a savings account for the district, the district's chief financial officer, Phyllis White, has said.

The move also would have increased the district's operating budget this fiscal year, which would allow it to collect more money from the state when a new education-funding system is put into place. But County Council members said they didn't want to change the district's budget.