County sets out to explain referendum to voters – again – Coastal Observer

County sets out to explain referendum to voters – again – Coastal Observer

During the six hours Brandon Ellis spent at the Murrells Inlet Community Center recently 17 people came looking for information about the local option sales tax that Georgetown County Council has placed on the November ballot. “One gentleman wanted to tell me how terrible his road was,” said Ellis, the county director of Emergency Services and an assistant county administrator. “I said, ‘well, I can tell you about the sales tax.’” The man took a handout with information about the tax and said he could read it himself. A woman came in later and took several copies to share with people in her exercise class. She didn’t linger. The drop-in was one of several events scheduled around the county this month, and the only one on the Waccamaw Neck. The 1-cent sales tax that requires 71 percent of the revenue be used to offset taxes on real estate and personal property such as vehicles and boats has been around since 1990. County voters rejected it then and again in 2004 and 2024. The last time, the tax failed by 54 votes even as a 1-cent capital project sales tax was approved. “There was some confusion between the two,” said Ellis, whose role in 2024 was limited to developing one of the capital projects: a new emergency operations center. This time, he is leading the effort to explain the local option sales tax to voters. By law, the county cannot use public resources to advocate for its passage. “We’re just out here educating and making sure everyone understands how it works,” Ellis said. “That way they can make the best, most informed decision for themselves.” He starts with the premise that the tax will raise $12 million a year. The first year of collections for the capital project sales tax was $18.6 million, according to the state Department of Revenue. “We want to err on the side of caution and be a little more conservative,” Ellis said. “Just in the event that there’s an outside influence that we can’t control.” The county must use 71 percent of that to roll back property taxes, but not immediately. The state law sets out how the revenue is disbursed, beginning with 63 percent for tax relief and increasing 2 percentage points over five years. The question Ellis gets most often is what will happen to the rest of the money, ultimately a 29 percent share. The county and the municipalities – Georgetown, Andrews and Pawleys Island – will share that money based on sales tax collections and population. “Obviously we can’t speak for the municipalities,” Ellis said. “In speaking with our leadership at the county, their emphasis is, in no particular order, public safety, infrastructure – infrastructure includes roads – stormwater, things of that nature.” In voting to place the sales tax referendum on the ballot, some County Council members discussed using all the revenue for property tax relief. Ellis said he hasn’t heard that from any voters. “Folks feel comfortable knowing, after we have a conversation, it will go to support core government functions,” he said. In 2024, the county estimated that the average household would pay $58.13 more in sales tax, but save $476.83 in property tax. Since then, inflation has added over 6 percent to costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The value of real estate also increased when the county completed a reassessment in 2025. The county is still working on the numbers to present to voters this year as well as a feature on its website that will allow property owners to figure out how much their tax bill will change if the sales tax is adopted. One number that hasn’t changed is the estimated share of the sales tax that will be paid by visitors. The figure, 40 percent, is the same as it was for the previous three referendums.