Beaufort OKs $28.8 million budget. Here’s what’s happening with taxes, trash rates
Garbage rates are going up. City taxes are going down.
Those are highlights of the 2022 City of Beaufort budget, which the City Council OK’d 5-0 Tuesday evening.
City taxes will be 78.2 mills on the dollar of assessed value of property within the city limits, which is 1.1 mills less than the current budget. That means residents will see a slight decrease in the city portion of their tax bill. The owner of a $250,000 home would see a reduction of $11 in the city portion of their tax bill, Finance Director Kathy Todd said.
The city’s operating budget is $23.8 million, a increase of $746,937, or 3.24%.
Monthly garbage fees are increasing to $20 per month from $16.20 per month for residential service, beginning with the July billing cycle. It’s the first increase since 2014.
On June 8, the City Council approved a new five-year contract with Columbia-based Capital Waste Services, which has an office in Ridgeland. Waste Pro of Hardeeville had held the contract with the city since 2009.
City Manager Bill Prokop said previously that the 2022 budget provides basic needs and carries no extra funding for unplanned grant matches, or projects that various individuals or groups asked for. That no-frills stance was necessary following a year in which city services were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Prokop, who also noted that the city is beginning to rebound.
