By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon County Council voted to pass the second reading of their 2017-2018 budget on Friday, June 9th in a called meeting conducted by Vice-chairman Stevie Grice.
Under this budget, the Dillon County School System will not receive Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) funds that have been going to the Dillon County School System since 1996. These funds would become a part of the Dillon County budget.
The motion to approve the second reading of the budget which includes this change was made by Chairman Archie Scott and seconded by Councilman James “Hoghead” Campbell.
The vote to approve the second reading of the budget was 4-3. Councilman James Campbell, Councilman Robbie Coward, Chairman Archie Scott, and Councilman Jack Scott voted to approve the second reading of the budget. Councilman T.F. “Buzzy” Finklea, Jr., Councilman Stevie Grice, and Councilman Harold Moody voted against the second reading of the budget.
When asked if he had a statement in regards to the Local Option Sales Tax funds, Dillon County Administrator Rodney Berry said on Tuesday afternoon, “At this moment as you and I speak, I’m not comfortable that the school is an authorized designated expense of the Local Option Sales Tax money.”
The Herald went back into the 1995 archives to see what was recorded about the Local Option Sales Tax at that time. According to an article in the September 7, 1995 issue by R.E. Robinson, Jr., the council voted 6-0, upon a motion by Councilman Chester Taylor and a second by Councilman James Webster, “to divide the county’s portion of the rollback with the Dillon County Schools.” It stated elsewhere in the article that “each entity would receive an estimated $209,000 annually.”
The article went on further to state that “in agreeing to place the one-cent sales tax on the ballot, County Council agreed to use its share of the county portion only for capital improvements such as building or repairing the jail, renovating the courthouse, or school buildings. Council went on record that its share would not be used for growth of government or for administrative costs.” On November 7, 1995, the Local Option Sales Tax was approved by the voters with a 3-1 margin. It became effective May 1, 1996.
(See related story about the history of the Local Option Sales Tax in Dillon County on this website.)
Dillon County Board of Education Chairman Richard Schafer was also contacted for a comment. “This outrageous action by some members of our county council will cause an immediate requirement for us to request a debt service millage increase of around five mills. The L.O.S.T. fund revenue is pledged directly to the repayment of the debt incurred from the phase one and two of the school building projects,” said Schafer.
The school’s portion of the Local Option Sales Tax amounted to approximately $319,000 last year. These funds are designated for the payment of the debt service on the new school building, which benefited Dillon, Latta, and Lake View. The debt percentages are Lake View-13.9914 percent, Dillon-59.3463 percent, and Latta-26.6623 percent.
Should the Dillon County Council move forward with this version of the budget, the Dillon County Schools would be looking at a around a five mill tax increase to cover the decrease in revenues. A billable mill for the schools is valued at $71,584. School budgets in Dillon County are set at the value of a collected mill which usually is about 90 percent of a billable mill, which amounts to somewhere between $65,000 to $68,000 depending on how delinquent accounts are running.
A public hearing on the Dillon County 2017-2018 budget will be held on Wednesday, June 28th at 4:00 p.m. at the Dillon County Council Chambers located at 109 South Third Avenue, Dillon. Written and oral comments will be accepted. A public notice announcing the public hearing it states that “At the time and place fixed for said public hearing, all interested persons who appear will be given an opportunity to express their views for or against this ordinance. Persons requiring special arrangements to attend this meeting due to physical disability should contact the County Administrator’s office at 843-774-1401 at least 24 hours in advance.”
The Dillon County budget public hearing notice shows a three percent increase in the general operation budget. The total 2017-2018 budget is $18,926,555.
It also states there will be changes in the solid waste box fees and that “a copy of the county budget can be obtained from the County Administrator’s Office.”
The budget becomes final upon the passage of the third reading.