Goose Creek Budget: No New Taxes, Sanitation Fee Hike

Goose Creek's proposed 2013 budget is largely status quo, but expect two big differences on your tax bill next year.

City Administrator Dennis Harmon presented the proposed budget to City Council on Tuesday. A second workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday to dig further into the numbers.

"It's a fiscally conservative budget," Harmon said. "We're still concerned about the economy. We need enough time and we need to see more growth in the city. It's going to be somewhat flat in 2013."

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That means a proposed budget that might best be described as "flat": no property tax increase for the 33rd year, no water rate increase, no business licence increase and no franchise or general fee increases.

The one number climbing on the tax bill will be the city's Sanitation Tax. That tax has been at a flat $75 for years, even as expenses climbed year-over year. Adjusting the tax to $135 will make the program self-sufficient and open up city funds for other expenses.

But many residents won't notice the sanitation tax hike because of a big refund through the city's local option sales tax. The program requires a portion of sales tax collections to be reimbursed to residents as a rebate on the local property taxes.

In an unusual year where sales tax collections where better than expected, the city estimates it will have nearly $3 million to put toward property tax bills. 

For a resident with a $150,000 home, that means an estimated $219 tax bill to cover city operations will only cost the taxpayer $21.68. The rest is taken care of through the sales tax rebate.

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