Mount Pleasant council sets proposed 2026 tax rate after budget hearing; vote 3-2

Mount Pleasant City Council on Sept. 2 voted 3-2 to set a proposed property tax rate of 0.366042 per $100 of taxable value and held a public hearing on the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget.

The hearing featured a budget presentation from Interim City Manager Greg Nighoff and extended discussion among council members, staff and public commenters about employee compensation, utility rates and the city’s revenue outlook. Council set a date to consider final adoption of the tax rate at a later meeting; the motion setting the proposed rate included a scheduled adoption date of Sept. 16, 2026.

Nighoff told the council the city’s combined operating revenues are roughly $47 million and noted adjustments to debt-service allocations reduced the initial tax-rate proposal from 0.41 to the current 0.366042 figure. “Budgets are always kind of a difficult thing,” Nighoff said in his remarks on the budget process and priorities. He described the city’s two largest revenue sources as property tax and sales tax, and said the utility fund has been strengthened by recent rate increases but remains on the low side of industry reserves.

Public commenters focused heavily on pay and retention for public-safety staff. Adil Latif, a Mount Pleasant resident, praised the police department and urged the council to keep officers with competitive pay, saying, “For their vigilance, bravery, and everyday service, our entire police department deserves not only recognition, but also a compensation package that reflects their essential role in keeping Mount Pleasant safe.” Mark Wind Brewer, an investigator with the city, provided comparisons with nearby cities and said the city’s starting pay for first responders lags competitors: “Our salary for our first responders is too low.”

Council discussion explored multiple options for compensation. Nighoff recommended a 3% market adjustment to salary ranges and noted employees are also eligible for step increases; staff said the combined cost of market and step increases would be several hundred thousand dollars. Finance staff reported the difference between the proposed (voter-approved) rate and the no-new-revenue rate would amount to roughly $600,000 in the general fund, and that finding that amount in cuts would require substantial service reductions or personnel freezes.

Several council members said they want a formal compensation study before approving larger across-the-board increases; others said a modest market adjustment now would help retain critical personnel and avoid larger increases later. City Attorney Lee Ream advised that the proposed rate set tonight establishes the maximum council may adopt later; the council may adopt a lower rate at final adoption but may not exceed the proposed rate.

The vote to set the proposed tax rate was 3 in favor and 2 opposed. The council also left the FY2026 budget open for further discussion; staff were asked to return with additional analyses and scenarios that show the service-level impacts of reducing expenditures by the amounts discussed. Final adoption remains scheduled for the council’s next adoption meeting within state timelines.

Next steps: staff will prepare budget scenarios that match alternative tax-rate choices and will present them to council ahead of the final adoption vote. The public hearing remains part of the official record.