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County millage rate stay flat, overall
taxes go up Edgefielddaily.com web posted September 29, 2005 EDGEFIELD – With the Edgefield County School Board finalizing their budget and millage rate County Auditor Bill Gilchrist says he has good news, taxes are going down not up. The millage rate in 2004 was 309.56 mills while the rate for 2005 came in at 305.56, “The School Board remained flat (no increase) and the county dropped 4 mills,” Mr. Gilchrist said. Though that is good news, with good news also comes bad news. On a $100,000 home that you own and occupy to receive the tax breaks the tax bill will drop between $14 and $16. That number is flexible due to other factors still at work. “You have to consider the SPLOST money,” Mr. Gilchrist said explaining that as the number of homeowners increases, the amount of money that gets spread out to ease the tax burden for each home decreases. “It’s simple math,” he said. The additional homes built actually draw from the existing tax structure and not really help it. “You can’t build your tax base on houses,” Mr. Gilchrist said in past interviews and explained a county has to have industry and commercial property on the books. On one hand the growth is good by adding additional houses to the tax roll, however with the new revenues brought in being outweighed by the additional costs in services and county operations, a net loss for the county, taxes go up above the level of additional revenues. The disappearance of a majority of revenues from car taxes, which has been legislated to drop each year, the county is forced to raise revenues without raising the millage rate to be able to claim they have held taxes down or even lowered them. This year it was done by the Road Maintenance tax Mr. Gilchrist acknowledged saying without that tax the millage rate would have gone up. “I think it was a good idea,” he said. The County Council figured out there were more cars than privately owned homes, almost three times more, and taxed the cars to use the roads, most of which are state roads. An average homeowner has three vehicles so the net tax bill to the homeowner from the county increased at least $15 and not dropped by $14 or $16. As additional homes are built and sold the empirical cost will continue to rise these costs are the most expensive. Things like Fire, EMS, and Police are required to uphold the guidelines necessary for homeowners to gain insurance. Additionally there are cost associated with the additional homes laid upon the county to provide water, sewer, and road improvements. As taxes continue to be touted as being held stable or even lowered, it is the bottom line that counts to the taxpayer. A new $10 tax on each tagged vehicle and a perpetual increase in the garbage tax, taxes in Edgefield County have done only one thing consistently; go up every year. Mr. Gilchrist stated the new tax bills should be ready to go out by the third week in October. Editor’s note: Edgefield County Auditor Bill Gilchrist has no role in the taxes levied on the residents of Edgefield County; the Edgefield County Council levies taxes.
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