Town Council - Special Meeting

Mount Pleasant Town Council special council meeting for this Monday, September 22nd. Our uh agenda has been noticed and uh distributed and hopefully everyone has a copy. Item number two is public comment. If you're here to make a public comment, please come to the lecture and give your name and address. Two and a half minutes, please. And I will ask the town administrator to be our clock keeper. Anyone for public comment? Good morning, council. Is this on? Good morning, council. Mike Van Horn, Iron Bridge Drive. Uh, just want to take a moment, so please bear with me. As everyone knows, Mount Pleasant has been awarded the All-American City a number of times. The all-American city is uh basically the city is given the municipalities that demonstrate the um initiative and civic engagement and collaboration in their efforts to create positive impact on their communities. As we continue to compete with other municipalities, Mount Pleasant needs to be the gold standard. There's too many times where we're falling behind throughout the county. Salary needs to be the number one in the area. Recently, there was a graph that was shared about the pay incentive recommendations with specific educational backgrounds. These recommend recommendations lag behind in five of the six categories. Restore the roll back for the millage rate at that's upcoming. Also, let's eliminate all the legal battles that's costing thousands monthly. Create incentives for individuals that live in Mount Pleasant. Too many of our first responders are driving to other municipalities throughout the county and they're also using town vehicles as well, which is costing them the taxpayers money. As you can see, I'm wearing a freedom

shirt to represent Charlie Kirk. I don't want to wear another shirt to represent anyone else, especially in Mount Pleasant. I ask that the council sits there and pays our first responders what they deserve. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? It's September, the month of never forget. My name is Kevin Grenade. I live in Tunes West. It's about a 40minut drive to get here this morning. That means it's a 40-minute drive for the cops to get to me. Uh, we had a fire in my neighborhood. Fire chief took 70 minutes to get to my neighbor. He disputes it and says it was 45, but it was a fatal fire and nobody on the staff of the fire department from the fire suite next door thought enough of it to come to the fire until 45 to 70 minutes after. We have a problem in our emergency services. That problem starts with the nine of you. This is the month of never forget. You've been warned for many years, about a full decade. In fact, I've regularly spoke before this body as a citizen and as a council member. The abysmal pay our responders receive is insulting, shows a total lack of respect, and shows the extreme low priority that this mayor and the town manager place on those who risk their lives on our behalf. Now, we're told to catch up pay for responders, the only way to raise the only way to do it is raise taxes. Isn't it interesting that the town managers pay goes up every year. Went from 180 to in 2018 to over 240 240,000 today. Yet police suppliers still make less than fast food workers in many cases. Oh, and I didn't recall any tax increase

to fund the everinccreasing bureaucratic pay. When this mayor expanded the PR department from one employee to four, added a PR drone fleet and PR conferences, there was no talk of a tax increase for any of that. We got in the take-h home vehicle fleet for office workers out in the parking lot here. It seems to be that seemed to happen with no talk of a tax increase. Old new car every couple years sits in the lot. They're not responding from home. People respond from home have to take a 20-y old pickup truck from Santi to come here if there's a fire. It's disgraceful. I've seen it happen where they're calling people from home and it takes them an hour and a half to get here. And that's on a good day. They live in Santi and Mons corner. How are they getting here? The fire department's in disarray. We have office chiefs which sign very expensive take-home response vehicles. Want to know what their response requirements are? There are none. If they happen to respond, it's not a required duty for them. I mentioned the fatal fire in my neighborhood. Chief took 70 minutes to get there. Those office chiefs could be assigned to fire stations instead of an expensive office suite. The town could lease that space for close to 100k a year. All over the country chiefs work out of fire stations. Very few places are they in office buildings. These chiefs can go work in the stations. they'd be providing extra better service and we could lease that space to someone 100 grand a year. It's just one suggestion. There's plenty of others. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Public comment is closed. Item number three is action to establish a village rate and sales tax credit factor. This is a required uh meeting.

Municipalities are doing it all over the state. There are many laws that are complex and difficult to understand. Um about the roll back, the millillage bank, the uh sales tax credit factor. Um I'm sure I'm leaving something out. Miss Harness will straighten us out on that, but I'll turn it over to our staff to begin to walk us through this.

Good morning. So, property is reassessed every 5 years. The last reassessment was for tax year 2020 and this one is for tax year 2025. State law requires that the millage rate is rolled back for reassessed properties to a rate that generates the same revenue as the prior year. New construction and growth are not factored into this roll back calculation. The state also limits the percentage that the millage rate can increase. The amount of increase is determined by the population growth and and the consumer price index. This year the percentage rate is 3.06% which equates to an allowable increase of 1 mil. The state also allows for any unused millage rate increase from the prior three years to be banked. The town has a millage bank of 7.2 mills as it has not increased its operating millage rate in the past 5 years since the last reassessment. This means the total allowable millage rate increase is 8.2 mills. The roll back rate and millage increase limitations are placed on operating millage only. Debt millage is allowed to increase to cover the cost of debt service. Tax year 2025 is based on the value of property as of December 31st, 2023 plus the value of properties that transferred or sold in 2024 along with new construction in 2024. For the town reassessment property values increased 10.4% and new growth plus property transfers was an additional 4.9%. for a total increase of 15.3% above tax year 2024. This increase in appraised values equates to a 13.8% increase in property assessments.

And of this assessed value, 4% properties are 59% and 6% properties for 41% of the assessed total. And this ratio of residential to non-residential and commercial properties has remained fairly consistent for the past few years. Now included in the reassessment data is a state limitation which places a 15% cap on reassessments for properties that have not transferred in the past 5 years via a property sale. This example shows what the cap looks like. If two homes were valued at 600,000 prior to reassessment and the first one increased 25% to a value of $750,000 and the second increased 85% to a value of 1.11 million. You can see the taxes due of $941 and 1392 respectively. However, the cap would limit both homes to a 15% increase or a reassessed value of $690,000 so that they are both paying equal tax payments of $865. So, what does all of this mean? Of the increase in appraised values, real property increased six 16.9% while personal property and motor vehicles decreased 5.8% over tax year 2024 to give a total appraised value that is up 15.3% from prior year. The town's current millage rate is 44.3 mills. This is comprised of 34.7 operating mills which are subject to the roll back and millage increase limitations and 9.6 mills for debt service.

The operating mills are rolled back by 3.7 mills to 31 to generate the same revenue as last year plus account for growth. This total 40.6 reassessment millage rate would then generate 59.4 $59.4 million, which is in line with the town's adopted budget. If council wanted to maintain its current operating mage rate of 44.3 mills, the town has a total available of 8.2 banked mills to do so. Increasing the mills by 3.7 would bring us back to our current millage rate of 44.3 mills and we generate $64.7 million. If town council wanted to use all available 8.2 bankked mills, the rate would be increased um to 48.8 mills and generate 71.1 million. So this slide shows basically a different graphic of that same information. Last year's millage rate of 44.3 with preassessed values brought in revenue of just under $57 million. The new base is the roll back operating mills from 34.7 to 31. This provides projected revenues of just over 59 million, which again is in line with our current budget. We also have the ability increase the operating millage rate from the roll back base or minimum amount of 31 to a maximum of 39.2 mills. This would use the full amount of banked millage we have available from our annual CPI plus population increase um for this year and the prior three years.

So that is full range minimum to maximum. Now, besides establishing the millage rate, town council also needs to establish the local option sales tax or lost credit factor. The town has an additional 1% local option sales tax. The state sends this revenue back to the town in two parts. The state provides some as revenue to the town, but the larger portion is provided back um and required to be given back as a credit on the town's property tax bill. We therefore estimate each year how much that revenue is going to be. We divide that by the town's appraised property value and that is how it's calculated. So this year um we are projecting that sales tax revenue will increase only slightly. The appraised values are going up quite a bit. So the tax credit factor is being reduced from 0.0045 to 0.0037. and that equates to a $259 credit on a $700,000 home. So looking at different scenarios of adding 1, 3.7 or 8.2 mills to the roll back millillage, you can see that every addition of a mill increases the residential tax bill by $4 per mill for 100,000 of appraised value. So equating that to a $700,000 appraised property value, um the residential tax bill will increase by four ice time 7 $28. If we would increase the 3.7 mills, that

$4 time 3.7 ms = 1480. Multiply that times seven for a $700,000 home and you get an increase of $10360 on the tax code. for 8.2 ms 4 * 8.2 * 7 = 22 229.6 And since the lost credit is based upon the appraised value of a home, it doesn't change with the mill. And then this graph just shows the 10-year mill rate trend for Mount Pleasant, which is the dark green line second from the bottom, as well as other nearby municipalities for the past 10 years. And of course we do not have any information that what other municipalities are doing. So that is all the data. What would you like to go back and clarify?

Any questions just on this portion?

Mount Pleasant. This is Mount Pleasant portion. Correct. This is the Mount Pleasant portion. And Mount Pleasant is about 32%. Oh, it's 35 32 35% of your total tax bill. Correct. Correct. Correct. Residential tax bill. Even last commercial tech. All right. Thank you. Did you say that we don't know what the school district is doing or the counts?

We don't. Um, I did reach out to the county. They seemed to think that most municipalities were at least going to use the CPI plus population increase for this past year, but they had not received in a lot of

Yes, sir. M, but everyone here needs to understand We're just smaller part of the county budget. Our residents pay county school districts added to it. All those other law that was passed tonight I was involved with the law that was passed specifically was to keep people in their homes. We need to make sure we're doing that. There were people back in the 90s living east of the Cooper who were taxed out of their homes. Whatever we do today, we need to think about that.

Yes. M. Miss Arnes, if the one Thank you for your presentation on the one mil uh and $28 and then the 3.7360, what's the revenue generated? I can't see it from here. I'm sorry. I'm sure it's on the board, but what's the revenue generated from the 1 mil and what's revenue generated from 3.7? So, from 1 mill it would be approximately an additional $1.5 million. Okay. And for 3.7, it would be just under million. Okay. Thank you. Sure.

Um Mr. Jamuru and Miss Harness, question I I asked last Friday. I I think you'll have that number for us. Um what what has been our operating surplus for our last few uh operating years?

Yes. Sorry, I did have handouts for you. I messed this up. Um this has been our fund balance. And if you look at our ending fund balance for the past two years, what all of the obligations were that we have to take as far as leaving enough money in reserves for emergency funds, 25% of operating expenses for our policy. Um the true amount available has been two to three and a half million in the past two years.

Two to three and a half million. So after we meet all our obligations and we put the money in the reserve and all that, we've had two to three and a half million the last few years. Okay. So, where I'll be coming from today is um we have this report that two business days ago the HR committee took a look at and I appreciate their work and I've spent the weekend going over that report and one of the things that it says is um and I have some questions about that that I'll ask either the committee or whoever has it or maybe HR has a good working knowledge where all those numbers came from. Um two things. One is there was a reason Miss Chapman that you mentioned that the law was passed in South Carolina about the roll back and it's so that people can stay in their homes and and let's not forget the effect on businesses as well that is passed along to our local merchants and uh businesses that rent in the major shopping centers and all of those most of which are owned uh not locally. So it has an effect when when we raise taxes. Um but one of the things that's mentioned in this report on on the wage um study and let me add to our credit. We are bidding against oursel in this. I got off the phone this morning with the mayor of of Goose Creek because they are heavily cited in this study and went over all the stuff that they do and how they get there and how they did it. But one reason they raised theirs is because we raised ours. And one reason we're quote behind on this is we we do this what every two years. We have this wage study done every two years. We commit to at least every four.

At least every four. So when we raise it, everybody else is going to raise it. So of course we're going to be behind when it comes back around to us because we'll jump. And then it's like I think you described it one time as the grab the bat that we all did when when we were playing. So no matter what we go to today, at some point in the future, others will catch up or pass us because we we did this. So that's why um we are sometimes told that that we're behind. But the figure that they gave right now is 1.5 million, which would equate to do the full roll back and add one bill back. And we can do, if I'm reading this report right, um what the consultant said we need to do right now. The rest of that is um we we have already collected taxes um what was that fis last fiscal year 3 point right at $3.5 million more than what we needed to meet all our obligations. So we have already taxed our citizens for that amount of money. We already have that money sitting there. We don't know what it'll be this year. Um we're only 68 80 days into this year's budget. It's probably too early um to know. But in December, January, we get numbers. We do a midyear correction. Um, we do not have to raise taxes to get to all the places that this report says we need to get. Um, we do not have to do it all through taxes. We might need, I think, to add one mil back after the roll back to do exactly what they say we need right now, but the rest, look, there's 3.4 million from last year sitting there that we didn't need. So, um I think we need to do our work. Um I think we need to do this through committees. Um I learned a lot from talking to Goose Creek today. their citizens tax bills actually went down because of their local option um tax,

their local option sales tax, other other taxes. Um their business license revenue has doubled in 10 years and their property taxes actually went down even though the millage rate went up. Um they have a lot of incentives including uh $200 a month uh if you live in the city, $100 a month if you're bilingual, and they have a down payment assistance program. And I am a strong believer that one of the best things we need to do. And we need to look at the use of some of this type money and get help from the state is to have a housing assistance um program for our first responders so that they can live in the city or at least try to. And that's that's a lot of work. Um, but we certainly can't do that just by one fail swoop raising tax millage today. Um, and also there was no I'm looking at the draft minutes and Mr. Chairman correct me if I'm wrong. The draft minutes say there was no vote um in the meeting on Thursday. Um, no formal motion was made as the matter will be discussed by full counsel at their upcoming meeting Monday. So, there is no motion on the floor from the committee.

Yes, sir. Wait, Mr. Chapman time. Question. Can we get your microphone up? Well, I'm not Or is it not working? Pull that one over.

Thank you. Um, first of all, what mill change do we need to make specifically to address the budget that we passed starting July 1, 2020? July 1 for a 2026 budget. That would be the full roll back. The full roll back with no increase. Yes. Does meet our budget obligations.

Okay. What What give me that number. It would be the full roll back to 31 mills. And 31 mills equates to just over $59 million. Okay. Which covers what is in our fiscal year 26 budget.

Second. Oh, wait. You still Yeah. Second. Over the past four years, what have we been able to do for our first responders in the budget in terms of increases and in terms of additional personnel? In particular, I want to know about the fire department since I'm chairman of the fire committee.

Yes, sir. I can answer the first part. um may rely on the chiefs unless there's a slide somewhere that can get more specific. Um even during COVID, uh council was generous to the employees when it was tough to keep the lights on type situation. Council found something for employees to include our first responders. As we came out of that and things started to improve, uh we settled back into a more common routine of pay for performance, merit-based increases. you know, three and a half to four and a half to five depending on depending on merit. Um, we've been moving forward with public safety personnel. I believe there were three hired in the police department last year. Um, we've added uh firefighters um, you know, several time in the paper that that you suggest. Um, and we have more call for fire department strategic plan. Um, so I'd like if we have a slide on it, it's probably best to speak to personnel if the chiefs do it directly. So,

thank you. And in each case, our fire chief, police chief, public service director have all helped you put together their individual needs for each year. Is that correct? Well, that's correct. The budget process is is lengthy and collaborative and we work towards performing the level of service that that we provide and present to you. But thank Yes sir.

Just followup question to that. I'm trying to think of how to frame the questions. the they're creating a budget based on they're creating a personnel budget based on the budget that you're giving them not on a on the level of service that council is providing. They are then taking the aotment of money that you are giving them and then saying that this is the personnel in which we can put in place. I mean, they're not coming to you and saying we need 200 police officers and then you're adjusting it back to us. It's it's it's what we provide as a budget first or how's that?

We we've had a long established level of service. The revenues that come in every year support that and where we the level of service we do and you see that through strategic plans. But that that's our process is is uh you know expectation of what the revenues are going to be. Can we provide that level of service within the revenues and that gets put into the budget that that we provide t I have a second part is of that as well.

I was just going to say that typically um when there is available funds priorities go towards public safety. It's it's usually or other functions of the town whether it be recreation or court or planning that that you know give way so to speak to make sure we can fund the public.

Okay. So I've got 2011 there's 229 fires. In 2024 229 fires in 2011 3,735 medical emergencies. 2024 6,837 medical emergencies almost double. Um service calls 5,712 compared to 13,13 in 2024. Firefighters went from 106 to 132. So medical emergencies and service calls doubled as we're seeing that trend. Um, I I I believe the level of service of Charleston EMT has become more difficult as traffic has increased and the need for our EMTs and paramedics to be on the squad, eight of 10 squads at this point. Am I using the right terms? I apologize if I'm not. in getting first on the scene to ensure that we are stabilizing. We can't transport, but we're stabilizing 5712 to 13,000 and 3,735 to 6,800. Over 6,800. And then on the police side, um, nonviolent crimes 1331 down to 1225. Congratulations. Good work. And violent crime is 149 to19. Now, service calls have gone from 52,591 to 116,910. And our police officers have gone from 146 to 157 in that 13-year span from what I'm showing. The median home price in 2011 was 309 and is now 960 in the town of Mount Pleasant. So, just some figures to put out there as we discuss the wages of our public safety.

Yes, sir. M.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, and I think um to to add to those numbers that the the really concerning ones that that I heard during that HR committee meeting was in in Mount Pleasant, we've got 1.7 officers per thousand. You look at Charleston, that number is 2.8. Um, and so that's that's a concerning um disparity for me. Um, also, you know, you you've got a police officer here in Mount Pleasant with a bachelor's degree making 6,000 less than they would in Charleston. Um, you have firefighters who could make four or $5,000 more in Goose Creek. And so, it I I think we're just at at a point where it it makes a lot of sense to invest in in our first responders and our police and fire. Uh, my concern is that we're falling behind other communities. Um and and so I'd like to see us um make a move towards um supporting our first responders um in hopes that that more of them can live in our community versus commute in from Monks Corner, Goose Creek, uh West Ashley. Um and so that's that's sort of where where my mindset is right now. So thank you. And I would like to um add to that that that's one reason that I think a housing assistance program because salarywise I mean what do you have to make? I'm not a mortgage person. What do you have to make to afford the median level medium price in Mount Pleasant now? Probably more than any first responder is making anywhere in the area. But if we had a housing assistance uh program on there, it gets them there quicker. It's taxed differently. it's not, you know, it's not payroll related. Um, a question that I have that I would ask either our HR director or our chief financial officer, um, when looking at this report that the committee looked at on Thursday, it says

the study focused only on base pay, not the full benefits package, though they did look at specialty pay and certification for public safety options. So there are different ways to give incentives. And we'd heard even before we got this that one of the areas we need to boost is is incentives. But incentives don't all happen every payday, right? They happen when people meet the requisites. And I'm looking at our chief when they when they get the education or they get the training and then they and then they get it. So that wouldn't necessarily happen in the next pay period. That would happen at some point, right? So when when this was when this number was given, did this I'm talking about the 1.5 they said we need to come up with right now. Did this include other um employer related expenses, you know, taxes, insurance, all of that, or is this just the base pay?

Okay. So if we do that 1.5, we can do what they say in this report that we pay for. we need to do right now.

Right. Thank you. Yes, sir. Mr. Rambo. Um I think one thing that's important to keep in mind with the study was that the study recommendations were based on an average um an average of um the different areas studied which included areas outside of Charleston like Greenville um Columbia um and so we also know that the cost of living here particularly in Mount Pleasant and and Charleston in general uh is much higher than it is in those other places. So I think comparing ourselves and trying to be average uh with those places is is not good enough quite frankly. Um and as uh Mr. Brownstein pointed out um yes it's even with this potential 1 mil increase for that salary study. An officer in the city of Charleston is going to make $6,500 more with a bachelor's degree than they would with us. And that is even with that that's after we do this um study. So in my opinion it's it's not enough. It doesn't go far enough. Um I think that our citizens naturally understand um they're smart people. They understand inflation. Um the national inflation rate from 2020 to 2025 was 25.8%. Um, and I don't have the exact figure that's broken down for Charleston, but I would assume it's probably even higher than that. Um, and so if the increase is a 13.8% increase to hold the millage rate the same, um, we're really coming out ahead as far as inflation is concerned. Um, particularly if we're going toward if it's being put towards public safety. Um, so I don't think the salary study goes far enough. I think we need to go a step further. Um I don't we

anyway I think we need to go a step further. In addition um and this has been touched on a few times but just to look at the numbers a little bit differently. In 2011 there was one police officer for every 469 residents. Now there's one police officer for every 618 residents. Um that's a that's a big difference. Um, and also in that time frame, which is 100% the right thing to do, is we have SRO's in all of our schools. Um, but that's also less police officers that are on the street that are patrolling. And I've heard lots of feedback from, uh, folks that they don't see police officers in their neighborhoods patrolling and doing things like they typically used to. Um, and so I think we need to take two steps. I think we need to go a step further than what the salary study suggested, which was just the average. Um, and then I also think we need some room in there to add um some police officers and firefighters to our um forces. Um so I would be in favor of holding the military at 34.7 uh for those purposes. Absolutely.

I'd like to make a motion that we adopt a 34.7 operating millage rate and the loss the sales tax credit factor as recommended by staff. Um I also respectfully ask um my child has a medical procedure. I came to this meeting to be here so that I could be here but I need to leave in 8 minutes and so if if people could disrespectfully not pontificate for hours so that I can be here for this vote, please let me vote on this. Thank you. Second. We have a motion in a second. So you're So in effect there would be no roll back. No roll back. So that's a no no tax roll back. And let's direct and let's direct it towards our first responders and our employees and you have I know I know

that's a budget. Um and just so everyone knows the budget is not on the agenda. We can't vote on the budget. We can only vote on the military. Um I will add also that um on on that on that note um there's an election in less than 60 days that a whole new group of people could be elected and there is no restricting that we can't we're just raising the millage rate right Mr. Prague, we're just setting the millage rate. This is not a budget ordinance where that money goes to that purpose.

Okay. I will tell you why I'm not voting for that motion in that we have enough that we have already collected from our residents where if we do one mill and add um back the uh the surplus we can still get there and still give and do what this law meant um why it it it it uh directs us to do a roll back. So um I would I would vote for the one mill uh ad back after the roll back but but not no roll back at all. think our citizens deserve a break when we have already collected enough money that is sitting in a reserve to do the same thing.

Yes. Are benefits packages uh consistent with the other towns or our benefits packages uh above the average equal to or less than the average because that's not part of was not part of the study. 21, Miss Harness, um there's 3.5 U budget surplus this year, but there's no guarantee it'll be every year. But has it been fairly consistent over the last couple years? Because a millage rate keeping it consistent is going to be consistent over five years. Will the budget surplus be relatively consistent or has there been a history of that?

Historically, we have tended to be in that two to3 million range. That is not to say we we try and also budget to that so that we don't have a huge surplus and we are using the funds that are available to us. So that's does that answer your question? I think so. I along with each of the other council people want to preserve, protect and enhance not only our police and fire but our other uh areas of uh our employment. The question really is just how it's done. whether it's done in two pieces or it's done all all at once. And so I think that's really the question.

Okay. Question. So just real quick, Jim. Yeah. Get out of here. Uh can we have a a budget committee meeting or a budget meeting on committee day to shore up this as well since this will be that same council we're talking about before the next council or possible council members get in. We could shore this up at the next budget at on committee day at the next um and call the special budget committee. Village has to be set today. I understand but we can shore this up

before anybody possibly up here leaves. Okay, that's good to know. I think we also need more officers, fire and police and I support the public safety and we are put on council first and foremost for the safety of our citizens. That's first and foremost. question. We could drive on dirt roads, but we need to have safety. When um when does this tax revenue start coming in? No matter what we set the millillage at, when when does this money start getting collected? Majority of it comes in in January. In January.

So this money, none of this, no matter what we do, will even start coming in until January. And so by then we can do our midyear true up on the budget. We can find savings. We can see what kind of surplus we have because this won't have even started coming in until 2026. Right. Thank you. All right. Miss um Whitley needs to leave. Are there any more comments? All right. All in favor of the motion to set the operating millage at 34.7 millillage which is no roll back in the sales tax credit as recommended. Please indicate by saying I.

I. All opposed. No. How many nos do we have? Four. So by five to four the motion carries. Thank you all so very much and good luck your child's medical thing. All right. So, the motion motion carries. Um, any other comments? All right. Since there's nothing else on our agenda, this meeting is journ.