‘Very concerned’: Beaufort County residents may not receive tax bills by end of year
Beaufort County residents may not receive their property tax bills by the end of the year — meaning some people may not be able to include their property tax deductions on their 2020 income tax return.
The delay is due to a continuing tax rate dispute between the county’s governing body and Auditor Jim Beckert. In response to a lawsuit from Beaufort County, a judge, on Nov. 20, ordered Beckert to amend residents’ property tax bills before they’re sent out.
Two lawsuits — which were later joined together — regarding the tax bills and a police service fee on Hilton Head Island have created a multitude of problems for the county’s governing body. Taxpayers have largely been left in the dark about what the ongoing disputes mean for their bills. The bulk of the discussions surrounding the bills and the police fee have happened in private meetings.
While Beckert is appealing the judge’s decision, the auditor’s office is working to fix the bills and comply with the judge’s order.
That means 170,000 tax accounts have to be amended before the county can start collecting payments. Based on county projections, it could take another 20 to 22 days to fix all of the bills, interim County Administrator Eric Greenway said Wednesday.
Once the bills are fixed, there are still two additional steps that have to be completed before they are sent out, he said.
The full effect of the delay is still unclear — county staff planned to meet Wednesday to discuss the ramifications, Greenway said. But preventing residents from being able to include deductions on this year’s tax returns is “one of the issues,” he said.
County Council Chairman Joe Passiment, after a missed call from a reporter Wednesday, texted, “We are working on it.”
“Have a meeting later today about where we stand,” he texted.
In the “worst case scenario,” Greenway said, the delay in tax revenue could hurt the county’s ability to deliver important services to county residents.
“A lot of organizations are going to be impacted if we don’t get this done quickly,” he said. “We’re going to have to start looking for other ways to cover the revenue, but that’s a last resort. We’re a long way from that right now.”
At the heart of the issue is the county and Beckert’s dispute over debt millage. The millage rate that Beckert set for the county’s real property program was higher (5.8 mills) than what the Beaufort County Council approved in June (4.8 mills).
Beckert, through his attorney, argued that he had the authority under S.C. law to set a sufficient debt millage. The county asked a judge to force Beckert to change the rate to 4.8 mills, claiming that Beckert was overtaxing residents. On Nov. 20, a judge ruled in favor of the county and ordered Beckert to fix the bills by Nov. 25.
That date has passed. Greenway and Jim Brown, Beckert’s attorney, say the bills are still being amended while Beckert appeals the judge’s order.
“We’re very concerned about it,” Greenway said. “We’re doing everything we can to correct the issue.”
Police service fee
Coupled with the county’s lawsuit against Beckert, the Town of Hilton Head Island is suing Beaufort County for enacting a police service fee on Hilton Head residents.
The fee ranges from about $100 for single-family households to more than $67,000 for large commercial areas like Shelter Cove Towne Centre.
While the county works to fix the tax bills, some island residents have reported receiving notice from their banks that 2020 property taxes have already been paid for the year, meaning their money is in escrow and they may have to deal with refunds down the road.
Greenway said Wednesday it was his understanding that once the bills are amended, they will include the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office fee on Hilton Head residents’ bills.
Extension?
The county will soon have to file for another extension from the S.C. Department of Revenue due to the delay in the tax roll, Greenway said.
Officials have already asked the agency for two previous extensions.
However, Greenway said, the county doesn’t know how much time to ask for, because officials don’t know exactly when the bills will be ready.
“We asked for the auditor to confirm what his projected date is, and we have not had a response,” he said.
As for who’s at fault in the county’s financial mess, Greenway said “there’s plenty of blame to share for the situation.”
“I’m a big proponent of communication,” he said. “You have to do your best to communicate with folks. It results in serious complications if you’re not transparent. It’s a shared responsibility.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
