Town Grapples with Big Road Costs

Mount Pleasant is facing the prospect of across-the-board tax and fee increases as it searches for ways to head off an annual $14 million road and sewer maintenance deficit.

On Monday, town councilmen came to no conclusions on how to solve the funding issue, but all options point to higher taxes and new fees that when fully implemented could cost residents up to $231 additionally each year.

It’s an unpopular prospect for a town that has for years bragged on having the lowest tax rate in the county.

Here’s the problem: Mount Pleasant’s exponential growth over the last three decades happened without much consideration for how the town would pay for repairs to the miles and miles of blacktop and underground sewer and stormwater pipes.

Last month, an outside engineering firm told the town it should be spending $14 million toward those maintenance issues.

If Mount Pleasant continues to underfund the expenses, roads will deteriorate and the costs for serious repairs and replacements could bankrupt the town, the report found. It currently spends $2 million annually on road and sewer maintenance.

The consultant said last month that Mount Pleasant is being proactive by addressing the funding issue now.

The bad news is that finding $14 million in additional annual revenue is impossible without big increases in fees and taxes. The total figure amounts to roughly 20 percent of the town’s annual operating budget.

“It’s likely we will never achieve that level of funding,” said Town Administrator Eric DeMoura. “You can’t fully fund everything, but we need to get it to a reasonable level.”

Even if town councilmen want to raise taxes to get to the $14 million level, it would take years to get there. State law caps tax increases at 15 percent annually, according to Charlie Potts, the town’s chief financial officer.

Instead, the town is considering a host of new fees, loans and tax increases to get to the funding level. The plans call for gradual increases over several years.

Councilmen know the prospect of higher taxes and more fees will be unpopular. Mount Pleasant has for years enjoyed a much lower tax rate than its neighbors. At 35.4 mills, it is just half of what Charleston levies and a third of North Charleston taxes.

“Why shouldn’t the millage rate be higher if we are one of the most wonderful places to live in South Carolina,” said Councilwoman Linda Page.

The issue could be politically dicey, but Mayor Billy Swails says dealing with it now – before roads fall apart and before the town struggles financially – is actually the prudent course.

“Let’s not kick this can down the road any further,” Swails said.

Councilmen are waiting for the second part of the consultant’s report before making any decisions. That second bit of information will tell councilmen what road and sewer projects need attention first.

“That’s going to define what the problems are and then we can decide how we’ll pay for it,” DeMoura said. “This is a problem we have known about for years. It’s about time we are finally dealing with it.”