Larger Isle of Palms budget to fund police, fire building

Isle of Palms — A new police and fire building, a new Livability court and plans for beach renourishment buoyed the town's general budget up 19 percent this year, from about $6.7 million to about $7.9 million.

On Tuesday, City Council passed the final reading of the budget.

City property taxes also rose, going up 21 percent. For an owner- occupied housed valued at $200,000 on the tax books, the owner would have to pay about $31.20 more a year. For a rental house, the increase would be $46.80 more for every $200,000 worth of home equity.

It's important to note, though, that overall tax bills are going down overall since the state Legislature changed school funding to rely on sales taxes rather than property taxes.

Mayor Mike Sottile said the school tax switch had nothing to do with increasing the city's budget, rather that the city was in need of a new public safety building because of mold and overcrowding problems.

"That's a building that will last the city for a long time," Sottile said, referring to the new facility that is slated to go up in the fall.

Right now the city is building another fire station, Station No. 2, near the city's marina. The new $7.8 million fire and police public safety building will go where Fire Station No. 1 is currently, near the front beach.

Other big expenses include the marina bulkhead replacement project, which is expected to cost about $1.5 million, but has yet to be offered for bids.

Also, the city upgraded to digital radios to comply with county standards, an approximately $400,000 expense.

The city has been collecting a lot more parking revenue, especially on out-of-state plates, through a system called RoVR, which retrieves vehicle registrations.

Sottile said the city is scrambling to catch up with the burgeoning number of tourists who flock to its shores each year.

"We are inundated every summer," he said. "There are more and more visitors to the Isle of Palms that we have to provide services for. That relates to garbage pickup, medical calls, additional police officers. The demand is there."

Reach Lucia Walinchus at 937-5921 or lwalinchus@post andcourier.com.