Higher Tax Bill for Goose Creek Residents

The headline from the City of Goose Creek’s preliminary 2012 budget isn’t that different from what residents saw last year: a $35.7 million budget (down slightly from $35.9 million last year). But there will be an increase on the tax bill because of a drop in tax relief.

There are no new hires, there is no cost of living adjustment for employees and no increases in taxes or fees. “It’s essentially a status quo budget,” says Molinari.

Residents across South Carolina rely on a portion of sales tax revenues in their community to offset their property tax bill. Assistant City Administrator Jeff Molinari tells Patch that the amount of sales tax collected has dropped, while the number of residents who receive that aid has increased. And those two factors combined mean less for everyone.

For an average home with a value of $185,000, that means a city tax bill that’s estimated at $113 for 2012 — a roughly $50 hike from what they saw in 2011.

The only significant capital project will be replacing the city administration’s phone system. Phones and other hardware for the existing system will no longer be manufactured at the end of the year, Molinari said, so the new phone system is necessary.