Could Hilton Head pay more taxes for policing? County and town battle over sheriff fees
Hilton Head property owners may have a new fee to pay, along with their tax bill.
After months of negotiations and back-and-forth threats among local leaders, Beaufort County is considering imposing service charges for Sheriff’s Office protection on the Town of Hilton Head Island.
User fees are one of three options County Council Chairman Joe Passiment says the county has to make up more than $3 million a year for law enforcement services that Hilton Head used to pay but now refuses to.
The county’s other two options, according to Passiment: come to an agreement with Hilton Head, or use the “nuclear option”: take Hilton Head to court.
In previous years, Hilton Head, which does not have its own police force, paid Beaufort County $3.6 million a year for sheriff’s services. In November, Hilton Head Mayor John McCann decided to strip that payment from the budget.
On Monday, TischlerBise Inc., the consulting firm the county hired to determine the actual costs of sheriff services, told officials that it costs Beaufort County about $4.4 million a year to police Hilton Head.
Armed with that information, Beaufort County Council agreed on first reading Monday night to impose user fees on Hilton Head property owners to make up for the loss of money.
“I believe we need to immediately proceed with the implementation of service fees as outlined by TischlerBise,” Council member Brian Flewelling said at Monday’s finance committee meeting. “We need to have this matter added to the agenda this evening. We lose the opportunity to collect this fee if we do not move forward immediately.”
The motion to create an ordinance imposing a “uniform law enforcement service charge” on the island was approved on first reading by seven of the 10 council members present. Council members Stu Rodman and Larry McElynn, Hilton Head’s two representatives on council, and Passiment, who has taken the lead in negotiations with Hilton Head, voted against the motion.
The vote was on “title only” and did not include a written ordinance, plan or fee schedule. Council must approve it two more times.
On Tuesday, Rodman said the sheriff provides different levels of service to certain parts of the island — especially gated communities that have their own private security firms — and that residents in these neighborhoods would have to shell out more money if the fee is approved.
“Hopefully we’ll figure out something other than a uniform service fee,” Rodman said. He added that the town pays for other services, such as EMS.
Mayor McCann said Tuesday he was not aware of the county’s decision to vote. He said he and other town representatives plan to meet Thursday with Passiment and representatives of the county to discuss “all the options.”
McCann refused to say what the options are.
Who would have to pay?
If Hilton Head and the county can’t come to an agreement, Beaufort County will likely impose user fees.
Julie Herlands, a consultant at TischlerBise, outlined Monday night how the county could implement a user fee schedule on Hilton Head.
Her proposal, which includes fees for residential and non-residential properties, would bring in an estimated $4.4 million to cover the costs of sheriff services to the island.
It includes:
▪ A $101 fee for single-family units
▪ An $88 fee for multi-family units
▪ A $242 fee for 1,000 square feet of retail space
▪ An $82 fee for 1,000 square feet of office/service space
▪ A $33 fee for 1,000 square feet of industrial space
▪ A $90 fee for 1,000 square feet of institutional space
The fee proposal is subject to change, and council has final say on what it looks like and how it will be implemented, Council member Chris Hervochon said Tuesday.
The fees would likely be added to property owners’ tax bills, Hervochon said.
How did we get here?
In November, when McCann stripped the payment of services to Beaufort County, he reasoned that Hilton Head taxpayers were shelling out twice for law enforcement services: once in taxes property owners pay to Beaufort County and again in the form of the $3.6 million annual payment from the town’s general fund.
He said the additional payments happened with a “misplaced understanding” that Hilton Head was paying extra for more services in comparison with other towns. After meeting earlier this year with Sheriff P.J. Tanner, McCann said he realized the town was getting the same amount of law enforcement services as other places.
But McCann said the island is getting only “minimal” services from the sheriff’s office on such responsibilities as enforcing town ordinances, so he proposed that the town reduce its payment on June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
In return for not paying for sheriff services, McCann suggested that the town assume responsibility of county-maintained parks, the Island Recreation Association and the county-owned roads on the island.
Since that initial letter, the town and county have negotiated several swaps and trades to make up the difference.
In mid-May, McCann sent another letter, saying the town would reduce the money paid to the county for sheriff services by $1 million per year over the next three years. After the initial three years, the town would pay only for “beach patrol activities and enforcement of town ordinances,” would would total about $300,000 per year, according to McCann.
However, that negotiation stalled after the county did not respond to the letter, according to Passiment’s notes, which he presented at the county’s finance committee on Monday.
During Monday’s meeting, Passiment said there was a “rumor” that the county and town will be able to come to an agreement.
Passiment did not return a call on Tuesday to clarify that statement.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
