Hilton Head takes Beaufort County to court over ‘unconstitutional’ extra police fee
The Town of Hilton Head Island filed suit against Beaufort County over its law enforcement fee Thursday afternoon in the Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas. In the complaint, Town Council Attorney Curtis Coltrane called the fee unconstitutional.
A law enforcement fee to pay for service by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will be added to Hilton Head residents’ tax bills this year unless town and county leaders can come to an agreement. Thursday’s filing means the two governments will have to do so in court.
The fee, approved earlier this summer by the Beaufort County Council, would range from $88 to $101 each year for residential property owners and $33 to $242 each year for commercial property owners on the island.
Along with its complaint, the town also filed a motion to stop the fee from being added to tax bills and a motion for an expedited hearing. The Beaufort County Court Index shows the town has thus far paid $200 to file the suit.The town council’s attorney, who is on retainer, is representing the town.
The suit illustrates the struggles for Hilton Head, which brings in the lion’s share of tourism taxes and has the largest population of the county’s four municipalities, in balancing its contributions and demands of the county.
Hilton Head is the only municipality in the county that does not have its own police department. In November, Mayor John McCann said he would set aside the town’s payment to the county for policing because he believed residents were paying twice for the same services: Property owners pay property taxes, and the town was making an additional $3 million payment for the services of the Sheriff’s Office.
In its suit, the town alleges that Beaufort County must establish a special tax district to implement a user fee for Hilton Head residents. To create such a district, South Carolina requires 15% of voters in the proposed district to petition the government. No such petition has been created on Hilton Head.
But this legal argument, first raised last week by County Auditor Jim Beckert, has been challenged by other counties where fees have been added for residents. Kelly Moore, public information officer for Horry County, said Sept. 11 that her county enacted two user fees without special tax districts.
“One does not beget the other,” she said.
Still, Hilton Head argues that its extra payment to the county for Sheriff’s Office services represents unfair taxation.
The town’s suit says town taxes paid for 39% of the $135 million Beaufort County budget last year, but that service to Hilton Head costs the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office only 13% of its $33.4 million budget, which is part of the county’s budget.
Beaufort County has not yet responded to the filing.
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The town’s disagreement with the county has several repercussions for Hilton Head taxpayers, included the anticipated closure of its convenience center. To read more about those effects, see The Island Packet’s recent story: Hilton Head may lose trash dump, park upkeep due to spat with Beaufort Co. What to know
