4 things to know about how Bluffton will spend $40.1M of your taxes starting in July
The initial story on the town of Bluffton’s proposed 2022 fiscal year budget appeared in The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette on May 20. Bluffton Town Council approved the budget Tuesday evening.
Bluffton property owners will not see an increase in their taxes next year, despite the town of Bluffton’s decision to increase its budget by about $6 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
One year ago, an expected revenue drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced Bluffton to slash its annual budget by 8% (to $34.2 million from $37.3 million) by reducing money for projects, cutting a planned raise for town employees and instituting a hiring freeze.
Now, as the town and the country inch back to some semblance of normalcy, Bluffton on Tuesday approved a $40.1 million budget for fiscal year 2022. Tucked inside are raises for town employees and town council members, an additional eight full-time employees — including a community mental health advocate — $2.1 million for park projects, $2.6 million for economic development projects and $880,321 in affordable housing initiatives.
The pandemic didn’t hurt Bluffton’s revenue as much as officials previously feared.
People continued moving and traveling to the town and, through property tax revenue, transfers and a $5 million bond, officials were able to increase their spending budget to over $43 million in the current fiscal year. Next year’s $40.1 million budget is actually down 8.5% from this year’s revised spending.
“Going into Fiscal Year 21, we adjusted down our estimates pretty drastically as far as our budget expectations, due to so many unknowns,” new interim Town Manager Chris Forster told a reporter Wednesday. “What we really saw was kind of the opposite effect.”
The town benefited from people moving out of urban areas during the pandemic and saw an increase in building permits and additional property tax revenue, he said. That influx in revenue significantly increased the town’s capital improvement and debt service funds throughout the year.
After Tuesday’s approval, the increased budget will go into effect July 1.
Here are four things to know about the budget and how it affects you:
1. Town staff and council members are getting raises
A year after Bluffton cut its plan to give town employees a 5% raise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those raises are back on the table for next year’s budget.
Also among those getting raises are Bluffton’s five elected officials, who haven’t seen a salary increase since 2014.
Mayor Lisa Sulka’s salary will get a 10% salary bump (to $16,500 a year from $15,000). Her four colleagues will see the same 10% increase (to $11,000 a year from $10,000 a year).
2. No tax increase
Bluffton officials will not increase taxes this upcoming fiscal year, according to the approved budget.
The millage rate in the town’s proposed budget is 38.5, the same as in 2021.
A millage rate is the number of dollars of taxes assessed for each $1,000 of property value. A rate of 10 mills means that $10 in tax is levied on every $1,000 in assessed value.
This means that a $280,000 home assessed at 4% (full-time residents) will pay $546.20 in taxes and fees to Bluffton next year.
A $280,000 home assessed at 6% (non-primary residents) will pay $761.80 in taxes and fees to Bluffton.
These estimates do not include the tax money paid to Beaufort County, Bluffton Fire District and the Beaufort County School District. 4% homeowners for $280,000 homes will likely pay about $2,000 total in taxes next year, according to Bluffton’s estimate.
3. A big bump in project spending
Bluffton residents may see an increase in town projects this upcoming fiscal year.
This is, in part, due to the town’s plan to pump a significant amount of money into projects for economic development (420.8% increase), parks (297.3% increase) and information technology infrastructure (344.2% increase).
They include the town’s ongoing sewer projects, streetscapes and parks. The budget also includes design funding for “shovel ready” projects.
So far, Bluffton has eight active projects on the table this year. Among them: the ongoing plan to move homes from septic systems to public sewer; improvements to the Bluffton Police Department building; the park in Buckwalter Place; and the town’s $500,000 contribution to the Culinary Institute of the South, under construction in Buckwalter.
4. New police officers, social worker
Also included in next year’s budget is $7,675,555 allocated to the Bluffton Police Department, now under Chief Stephenie Price.
Next year’s police budget includes:
▪ Restoring in-state/out-of-state travel for employees (it was cut this year due to COVID)
▪ Hiring two additional full-time police officers
▪ Hiring a full-time community mental health advocate. Proposed by Council member Bridgette Frazier, the advocate will work with the Bluffton Police Department to create a community mental health response plan by January 2022, Forster said. The position will cost the town $90,000 and will be posted on the town’s hiring website “fairly soon,” he said.
▪ A new lease program with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to replace up to 16 vehicles.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
