The Dillon County Council passed a resolution at their meeting on Wednesday to express concern over the fiscal impact of H.3726 on smaller counties of the State of South Carolina.
The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, The State of South Carolina (the “State”) is currently facing, a dramatic shortfall in required funding for many of the State retirement funds, including, the employee retirement fund and the police retirement fund, due to a combination of factors; and
WHEREAS, in order to address the shortfall, the South Carolina General Assembly has, among other things, proposed House Bill 3726 (H.3726), which would require substantial increases in both the employee and the employer (governmental body) contributions to the respective retirement funds in order to bring them solvent at some point in the future; and
WHEREAS, while Dillon County, South Carolina (the “County”), a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision of the State, acting by and through its governing body, the Dillon County Council, is aware of the retirement fund shortfalls and the dire necessity facing the State to correct such shortfalls and fully fund the retirement funds, the County would still be faced with an almost insurmountable fiscal burden by the “fix” required by H.3726, IF it can even increase taxes as much as H.3726 requires (due to the impact of Act 388) and desires to bring to the attention of the Dillon County legislative delegation, and the South Carolina General Assembly the actual hard numbers which such a “fix” would impose on the County, and the taxpayers of the County, and on all small South Carolina counties with small taxbases, and the conflict between such millage numbers and the hard limits of Act 388; and
WHEREASE, H.3276 would require a substantial millage increase to the County Budget, based on current county salaries, which almost certainly would continue to climb, and a figure which represents an enormous added burden on taxpayers who are already stressed to the breaking point. There also remains the clear hurdle imposed by Act 388, in imposing such millage apart from the impact on the citizens of the state. It matters not whether tax increases are imposed on the taxpayer directly by the General Assembly or on the taxpayer indirectly by the General Assembly or by ordering the counties to impose them – they are still increases which have to pay, and which so many cannot afford to pay:
NOW IT IS, THEREFORE, HEREBY RESOLVED by Dillon County Council:
1. That the preamble of this resolution is hereby adopted in its entirety as findings of fact of the Dillon County Council.
2. That the Dillon County Council hereby respectfully invites the attention of the County legislative delegation and, through them, the South Carolina General Assembly to the impact on Dillon County and its employees of H.3726, as currently proposed, and the potential conflict between the requirements of H.3726 and Act 388, and requests a meeting of the legislative delegation with County Council and County staff to discuss the matter as part of a process to mutually explore the funding shortfalls of the state retirement plans and the methods available for addressing them.
3. That Dillon County Council desires to go on record as making it clear to the Dillon County Legislative Delegation that the County is very aware of the dire circumstances facing the State retirement system and funds, fully appreciates the task of the South Carolina General Assembly in trying to put the State retirement plans on a solid, fully-funded fiscal footing, and is committed to working with the County delegation and the South Carolina General Assembly in doing so – but also wants the County legislative delegation and the General Assembly to fully appreciate that the County and its employees have been providing their respective contributions to the retirement funds all along, as required by the State Retirement System and State law, and neither the County nor its employees are responsible for the underfunding of the retirement plans of the State, and underfunding which accumulated over many, many years and cannot be fixed in a few years, without draconian impact on the poorer counties of the State such as Dillon County, and their employees, and a possible conflict with the millage caps imposed by Act 388.
4. That the County Administrator is hereby requested and directed to have a copy of this Resolution delivered to the County delegation at its earliest convenience.
This resolution is passed this 22nd day of March, 2017, by the Dillon County Council in a meeting duly assembled.
DILLON COUNTY COUNCIL
The motion to pass the resolution was made by Councilman Robbie Coward and seconded by Councilman T.F. “Buzzy” Finklea, Jr. The motion was approved.