County leaders reconsidering water-quality fee increase for this year
Beaufort County landowners might not see an increase this year to the county's water-control fee after all.
Instead, County Council wants another two weeks to mull proposed increases to the rates that fund the county's water-quality and stormwater-management efforts.
The proposed increases range from just a few dollars to up to $37 for the average property owner, depending on whether the property is in a municipality or unincorporated.
The increases are needed to meet newly triggered federal clean-water standards and to try to reverse damage to local waters from years of development under less stringent regulations.
The council was set to endorse the increases Monday evening, in time to be applied to tax bills to be issued this fall.
However, a divided council voted 7-4 to postpone the final decision on the increases after county staff presented revised rates and council members discussed a possible rate cap for owners of large, undeveloped tracts of land.
Most council members said they preferred to further evaluate the changes to ensure their fairness to all county owners before taking a final vote.
"I think we've reached the point where we have to be realistic about this," councilman Brian Flewelling said. "This ordinance is not ready for prime time. We're not ready to issue tax bills based on this."
Monday's decision to postpone could mean the increases will not be finished in time for this year's tax bills, which are finalized in September and issued in November.
Without the increases -- which are expected to raise an additional $1.5 million -- the county could risk falling out of compliance with the new federal standards next fall, county stormwater manager Eric Larson said. Noncompliance could put the county at risk for large federal fines, he has said.
Follow reporter Zach Murdock at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
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- Water-quality fee likely to jump 74 percent this year for some Beaufort County residents , July 25, 2015
This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 7:55 PM with the headline "County leaders reconsidering water-quality fee increase for this year."