GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Before Georgetown County residents head to the polls in November, officials want to help them understand the new additions to their ballots.

This November, new sales tax-related questions will be added to the ballot in Georgetown County, and county officials are hosting numerous meetings where citizens can ask questions and learn more about the potential changes.

“I think there’s a lot of misconception about the two different taxes, and people have been getting expert information on social media that wasn’t necessarily 100 percent accurate,” said Georgetown County Executive Walt Ackerman.

If approved by voters, both referendums would result in a one percent increase in the sales tax rate on all items subject to sales tax, excluding prescription drugs, gasoline and groceries.

Officials said tourists would pay a large portion of the $10 million tax.

One tax, the local sales tax, would be used primarily to reduce property taxes. The money not used for the reduction would be used for government functions, including maintenance of existing facilities.

“We don’t have enough staff, we don’t have enough manpower, we don’t have enough money to maintain what we have. We’re barely making ends meet. This gives the county the flexibility to do some additional things,” Ackerman said.

The second tax, the capital projects sales tax, is intended to be used for projects across the county related to issues such as stormwater disposal and public safety.

However, some residents at Wednesday’s meeting in Murrells Inlet expressed concern about the lack of planned improvements in the Waccamaw Neck area, even though the area generates a lot of money, especially through tourism.

“The final result for District 1 seems really, really disappointing. Have you all analyzed how much of this is going to come from District 1?” asked one resident.

“Three-quarters of a million dollars for a baseball park, and we don’t even get the maintenance of the existing stormwater that we have up here,” said another resident. “So do we get money for stormwater maintenance or do we have to get involved in one of these major projects?”

Ackerman told WMBF News he knows higher taxes aren’t always a popular option, but said the county needs the money.

“There’s never a good time to talk about whether you want to raise another tax. So it’s a case of ripping the Band-Aid off and getting it over with,” Ackerman said. “The longer we wait, the greater the need will be throughout Georgetown County.”

Georgetown County will hold more such meetings in the coming months before the general election on November 5.

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