Beaufort leaders balk as uses for planned fee expand to park furniture, flowers

Beaufort decision-makers balked Tuesday at using a property fee in the city’s proposed budget for projects like park furniture, water fountains and flower beds.

The city wants to charge property owners a $60 fee for each real estate parcel. The cost would go on the owner’s tax bill and raise an estimated $334,000 for police, fire and public works equipment.

The ideas had first been proposed as a public safety measure to cover police and fire costs and was later discussed as a method to pay for road maintenance.

The list of expenses recommended for the new fund during a city presentation Tuesday included four new police vehicles, fire equipment and a backhoe. But furniture, water fountains and flower beds for Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park also made the list and raised concerns.

“This got more expanded than what we originally talked about,” Councilman Mike McFee said.

The fee is necessary to offset costs to maintain state-owned roads, city manager Bill Prokop said. But roads maintenance is not an allowed use of the fee per state law, he said, citing a city attorney’s advice.

“We will go back to counsel and see if we can work on wording,” Prokop said. “The fact is, there is a $330,000 shortage.”

City Council members said they thought the fee would be a temporary measure to cover road maintenance costs until a number of recent development projects are completed and begin making money for the city.

The discussion turned against the state, which city staff and council member said was not paying its share to maintain its roads. City public works director Lamar Taylor said his department spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to maintain roads and sidewalks.

The city pays $200,000 each year alone in mowing and street-sweeping contracts and another $60,000 on sidewalks, Taylor and Prokop said Tuesday.

“The other options is we just quit doing it,” Councilman Stephen Murray said. “... Ultimately it’s the state’s responsibility.”

Mayor Billy Keyserling asked Prokop and finance director Kathy Todd to get a second opinion and try to tie the fee to those specific projects.

“Let’s push that,” Keyserling said.

The list of projects to be funded by the proposed fee totals $520,000. After the money raised by the fee, another $186,000 would be transferred from the city’s fund for equipment purchases.

The $19.2 million budget presented Tuesday is about 9 percent more than the previous year’s.

The fee and budget must go before a public hearing and two votes by City Council. The process begins June 14.

Among the other recommendations are to study business license rates; increase hourly rates for off-duty police, fire and public works employees; and increase parking fees for delivery spaces, special events and festival organizers.

Another proposal is to charge $320 per day to rent Southside Park and Pigeon Point Park, a fee council members also debated. The charge wouldn’t be for small birthday parties, Prokop clarified, but for large events requiring most or all of the park.

The city also plans to use state accommodations tax money — the 2 percent charge on hotel stays — to pay for a percentage of police salaries and benefits attributed to its protection of tourists. State law requires the money be spent on tourist-related activities.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Beaufort leaders balk as uses for planned fee expand to park furniture, flowers."