Beaufort considers public safety fee to patch anticipated $700,000 revenue shortfall

Faced with a potential budget deficit of more than $700,000 next year, city of Beaufort officials and staff are considering charging all property owners a public safety fee.

The public safety fee could generate more than $900,000 and go directly to support police and fire services, finance director Kathy Todd said.

The suggestion immediately garnered divided responses from council members.

"I understand we need revenue, but I balk at something like that," George O'Kelley Jr. said.

The rate is based upon the appraised value of a piece of property and would equal .05 percent of that value. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the fee would be $100 annually.

The fee would apply equally to all properties in the city -- including those owned by nonprofits that currently are exempt from property taxes. The idea of charging a fee in lieu of taxes on those properties has been raised repeatedly over the years but has never been approved.

Councilman Stephen Murray said that applying this across the board -- which Todd said is required under state law -- adds a burden for people already paying property taxes.

"This is penalizing people who are already contributing in order to get to people are who are not contributing," he said.

However, Mayor Billy Keyserling said council needs to look at the long-term picture and support services instead of continuing to cut.

"Of everything I see, my biggest concern is that ... we could slip on the kind of support we're giving to public safety, which is one of our core -- which is our core -- responsibility," he said.

Todd said that some of the past solutions for patching budget holes are off the table.

"The fund balance is being whittled away, so that's no longer an option," she told council.

A temporary debt mil, which was added last year, will not be needed because it served its purpose in bridging a revenue gap caused by the county-wide reassessment, she said.

City manager Bill Prokop advised council to consider the fee, as department budgets have been cut and cut repeatedly.

"We got to the point with these department heads where we literally almost went shoelace by shoelace with them," he said.

Revenue projections for fiscal year 2016, without the public safety fee, equal about $17.1 million, Todd said. This year, the city is on track to spend more than $17.7 million, she said.

If a public service fee is to be added, it must be approved before the second and final vote on the 2016 fiscal year budget. The budget must be approved by June 30. A public hearing will likely be scheduled for May.

Department budget presentations will also begin April 28 and continue the next several meetings.

City of Beaufort budget overview and 2016 goals presentation given April 21, 2015:

City of Beaufort updated organizational chart presentation given April 21, 2015:

City of Beaufort revenue projection presentation given April 21, 2015:

Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/IPBG_Erin and at facebook.com/IPBG.Erin.

Related content:

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Beaufort considers public safety fee to patch anticipated $700,000 revenue shortfall."