Government

Goose Creek leaders to consider first property tax hike in 34 years

by Nikki Gaskins Campbell

property tax hike
The average homeowner would see his or her property tax bill increase by twenty dollars.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C.—This Tuesday, city leaders will consider raising property taxes for the first time in 34 years. Mayor Michael Heitzler and other city leaders say the money is needed to pay the salaries of twelve new firefighters.

Recently, Councilman Jerry Tekac appeared on The Bryan Crabtree Show where he stated that there’s no way to avoid the tax hike.

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible,” stated Tekac on the air. “We’re pretty efficient in how we manage our money, but when you add twelve new firefighters and when you’re going to add a debt payment of about $700,000 to pay for two new fire stations, you have to find the money somewhere.”

According to Tekac, the average homeowner would see a property tax increase of approximately twenty dollars—that’s an increase by five mils.

“The budget also calls for another increase in 2016 of five mils,” added Tekac.

This would be the first tax hike since 1980, just two years after Heitzler first became mayor. Recently, he told The Post & Courier that the city’s needs will increase as its population grows.

“We have homes going vertical in all sections of our town and we need to have emergency people nearby,” he said. The city also needs fire stations at Carnes Crossroads and Liberty Hall, he said.

Goose Creek is the twelfth largest city in South Carolina based purely on population. It continues to grow just as the rest of Berkeley County does.

“What we need to do as a city is to make sure that we’re upfront in managing our growth and looking for opportunities to bring in new businesses that not only benefit our city but benefit our residents,” stressed Tekac. “If we don’t become more active in trying to market our city to the business community, we’re going to face this issue down the road again.”

If city council passes the tax hike, it would take effect next year.
Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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