Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
James Island council votes to end PSD cost‑sharing; reallocates funds to town projects
Summary
Councilman Dan Bowles told the neighborhood council the town voted 4‑1 to authorize the mayor to terminate cost‑sharing agreements with the Public Service District; council also approved park access for Cub Scout Pack 50 and held several other routine votes.
Councilman Dan Bowles said the James Island Town Council voted 4‑1 to authorize the mayor to terminate the town's cost‑sharing agreements with the Public Service District (PSD), a change he said will shift roughly $1.3 million a year from the PSD subsidy into town projects and services.
The vote came after a public hearing and extended public comment on the agreements, Bowles told the James Island Neighborhood Council on Monday. “We voted this year not to do that,” Bowles said, referring to continued payments to the PSD.
The change, Bowles said, means the town will no longer pay the subsidy that had been provided from local option sales tax revenue. “By and large, everything that we do is funded by the local option sales tax,” he said, and he estimated the amount involved is “about a million plus or minus” and later said “I think this should be 1,300,000,” characterizing it as a large share of the town’s operating resources.
Bowles told attendees the council also voted to allow Cub Scout Pack 50 regular access to and use of Pinkney Park. The council held a public hearing on an ordinance related to zoning and land‑development regulations and later voted on that ordinance; Bowles said no one spoke at the hearing but did not specify the ordinance's vote tally or outcome.
Bowles summarized other council business reported at the meeting: committee reports (including the Island Sheriff's Patrol), additions to a business‑development committee, several drainage projects, work on an arts and cultural center, and discussion of placing a flagpole and a community board near the Carolina One building on Folly Road. He said the council went into executive session to discuss pending litigation and complimented the town attorney, Brian, for his work.
Bowles described how the change to the PSD agreement could affect residents. He said some residents had raised concerns that discontinuing the town subsidy would cause the PSD to raise rates, calling it “in essence” a different form of taxation. He also said the council's decision was intended to redirect funds into town projects and services rather than issuing small refunds to residents.
The neighborhood council meeting did not record movers or seconders for the town council motions in the remarks Bowles delivered; Bowles provided the 4‑1 tally only for the resolution ending the cost‑sharing agreement. He also said many residents spoke during the public comment period on the PSD issue but did not provide a detailed roll call of votes or the full text of the zoning ordinance that was considered.
The Town Council's actions will change how the town's local option sales tax dollars are allocated, Bowles said, and could lead to different PSD rates for customers outside the town. He described the town's intent as directing the money toward projects and services rather than distributing refunds.
Councilman Dan Bowles delivered the update during the neighborhood council's regular meeting; he did not provide further implementation dates or departmental assignments for reallocating the funds.
