Town Council urges state municipal group to tackle property tax reform

Hilton Head Island Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday for a resolution supporting the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s legislative priorities for 2013.
But it did so with misgivings.
Those misgivings centered around Act 388, which charges a higher property tax rate on second homes and business properties. Reforming or repealing that act, which council supports, is not among the association’s three priorities.
The resolution council passed included a cover letter from Mayor Drew Laughlin urging MASC to “not give up the fight” for tax reform “even when faced with considerable opposition from the General Assembly.”
“We think that the other priorities are valuable, but we feel strongly about Act 388 and its unfortunate consequences both for us and the State of South Carolina,” Laughlin said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Councilman George Williams went a step further.
“There was a lot of discussion about ... how ‘mamby pampy’ ... the municipal association’s legislative priorities were this year,” he said. “And I believe our cover letter ... addresses our concerns, shall we say, forcefully.”
MASC’s priorities were:
• Providing cities and towns with options to form partnerships with the private sector and nonprofits to rehab or remove dilapidated buildings
• Ensuring the Local Government Fund remains a consistent and stable revenue source for the services residents and businesses expect.
• Identifying long-term, stable funding sources for roads, bridges and infrastructure maintenance, improvement and expansions.

Links:

State Sen. Davis: Repealing Act 388 not the answer to high taxes in Beaufort County, Dec. 1, 2012. http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/2012/12/01/story/state-sen-d...

MASC’s legislative priorities http://www.masc.sc/newsroom/uptown/November%202012/Pages/Association-set...