Georgetown County briefing details two 1¢ sales-tax questions on Nov. 5 ballot

Georgetown County Council heard a detailed presentation on Oct. 22 about two separate 1¢ sales-tax referendums that voters will find on the Nov. 5 ballot: a local option sales tax that would be applied as a credit against property taxes and a capital project sales tax to fund a prioritized list of public projects.

Walt Ackerman, who addressed council during the meeting, said both measures would raise an estimated $10,000,000 a year each based on Department of Revenue figures and the county’s recent collections. "We anticipate collecting approximately $10,000,000 a year," Ackerman said, adding the county used conservative estimates drawn from the Department of Revenue.

Ackerman explained that under the local option sales tax, about 71% of the revenue would be used to roll back property taxes as a direct credit on tax bills, with the remaining 29% split between the county and municipalities for operational needs. "71% of the money collected goes to directly roll your property taxes back," he told council.

The capital project sales tax, Ackerman said, would be limited to capital improvements — "things you can't pick up and move out of Georgetown County," such as buildings and major infrastructure — and would automatically sunset after eight years. He described a primary project list and a contingency list required by state law so voters know how funds would be spent if collections exceed estimates.

Priority projects cited included roughly $42 million in water and sewer improvements (the largest being sewer work in the Sampit community), a $10 million 9-1-1/EOC facility replacement, several stormwater and roadway projects and transit and recreation items. Ackerman said some projects on the priority list are grant-matched or already grant-funded, which would stretch county dollars.

Ackerman said the county may issue bonds to accelerate work but noted that bonds would be limited in scope and that each participating entity would need separate funding agreements. He also warned that the Department of Revenue will audit project compliance and that projects must be carried out as voters approved them to avoid refunds.

The presentation included estimates of individual impacts: using county averages, Ackerman said an average household could pay about $58 a year in additional sales tax while receiving roughly $477 back in property-tax credit, citing tourism and nonresident spending as part of the calculation.

Ackerman closed by reminding residents that the two questions are separate on the ballot and that voters must mark them directly (straight-party voting does not automatically register a yes/no on these nonpartisan questions).

The measures will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot; council did not take a vote on endorsing either question during the meeting.