EDITORIAL: Voice opposition to taxes to proper officials

Residents of Florence County, regardless of whether they live north or south of Lynches River, should take an interest in how their elected officials are running their county and municipal governments. The Lake City News & Post in previous editorials has encouraged more citizen involvement in governmental meetings. While we can rely on certain people always standing up to our leaders, we worry that those leaders should be hearing from a wider range of voices.

Speaking up, however, comes with the caveat that the speaker should be educated on the issue at hand. While the average resident has a busy life and can’t be expected to understand all the intricate details of government, a basic knowledge of an issue’s background can avoid misunderstandings and misdirected blame.

For instance, look at what happened after Florence School District 1, which is based in the city of Florence, recently increased its property tax millage after selling bonds to begin infrastructure work for new schools. Florence County Council members have been taking a great deal of flak for the higher millage, even though they had nothing to do with the increase. The confusion arose after the county sent tax notices on behalf of the school district.

Relief elementary and middle schools are being built along Hoffmeyer Road to deal with overcrowding in the district, which has about 180 portable units at its existing schools, said Luther Rabon, the district’s chief financial officer.

The district has 21 campuses and has built no new schools in 14 years. The average age of its facilities is 41 years, and about a third of its campuses are more than 50 years old.

Florence School District 1 is in need of new facilities, but building those obviously won’t come cheap.

The district has made an eight-mill increase for the general fund, Rabon said. That’s a 4.9 percent increase over the previous year’s millage.

Debt service, meanwhile, rose from 19 mills to 33.4 mills, he said, and that’s an increase of nearly 76 percent over the previous year’s millage.

Property taxes on a $50,000 home rose 68 percent, from $38 to $64. The taxes for a $100,000 business also increased 68 percent, from $114 to $192, according to previous Morning News reports.

The school district’s higher property taxes are probably here to stay for a while as construction takes place. Rabon said the district also will need at least 32 mills during the coming years if it builds the schools.

Tax increases are rarely met with much enthusiasm from the public, and lately, they’ve been especially unpopular among the tea party crowds around the country.

Naturally, residents within the school district who disagree with the tax increase should feel free to speak their minds, but they should make sure they are expressing their concerns to the proper officials. For many citizens, it’s easy to presume the county is the culprit when they see a higher tax notice that was mailed by the county.

The confusion over who raised taxes started because the county sends out all tax notices and collects taxes for the school districts; special purpose districts, such as fire districts; and municipalities, council Chairman K.G. “Rusty” Smith said in a recent interview. The cost of postage would add up quickly if the notices were sent separately, he said.

The school district has the authority to raise its property taxes under state law, and county council has no involvement in the matter, Councilman James Schofield said in a recent interview.

To voice opposition effectively, residents within the school district should be aware of the back story behind the recent millage increase so that they can take any complaints to the people who need to hear them.

Elected officials, meanwhile, should make their activities transparent to the public and respond with grace to any criticism, misdirected or deserved, that’s directed toward them.