"Youth City Council) Launches 

Pilot Program *

* (working name until students design program and name)

In previous newsletters I have laid out my dream of organizing a Youth Leadership initiative in the City of Beaufort.  After months of planning, research and seeking collaboration from a strong team and dedicated team of educators, we are off and running.

Thanks in large part to retired educator and Beaufort resident Noel Tillman, and the leadership of middle school liaisons from each of our north of the Broad River Middle Schools,including the Charters and Beaufort Academy,  last week we launched a pilot leadership program for seventh and eighth graders.  The ultimate goal is to challenge these students through the pilot program to design and create a program for their fellow students in future years.

Running from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm, the program started with a number of "ice breaker" exercises to help the students, 7th and 8th graders from different schools, loosen up to a new experience and get to know students from schools other than their own.

Following an introduction to the project, the students toured City Hall offices including building codes and permitting, planning and development, human resources, and finance ending up outside of the City Council Chamber.  At that point I took my Mayor's seat in the Chamber and one by one the students marched to the podium where they introduced themselves to the Mayor, something most Beaufortonians unfortunately never do though they are encouraged to attend and participate in our twice a month meetings and three times a month work sessions.

I led the group through a typical agenda starting with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by public comment where citizens are encouraged to come to the podium and share views on non agenda items.  And then through a review of the minutes of past meetings and new and old business where the public is also encouraged to participate.  And finally adjournment.

Returning back to our class room on the first floor of city hall, we had snacks and were led into an activity of creating ideas for a logo for t-shirts we will get for each student who participates. (Thanks to me and Councilman Stephen Murray's New South Shirts at Kazoobie Kazoos.) 

Breaking into small groups, using the City's logo,  as a starter teams of four drew potential logos which will be judged with a recommendation from the art teachers from the participating schools.

The day ended with chatter and feed back from students, a lunch provided by the Boundary Street Cafe and the plan for the next session where students from Whale Branch middle school will host the second meeting.

We have a lot to pack into future sessions, not the least of which will be visits to the police and courts departments and, of course many students' favorite, the fire department, which most students already know as the fire department often visits schools to promote fire prevention and safety.

And finally, taking what we have learned between now and the final sessions, the students will work collaboratively develop to a plan for next year which could include students conducting public hearings so other students can make their voices heard about life in Beaufort for young people, hopefully a plan for a day of service, attendance at City Council meetings and many other activities related to leadership.

If anyone would like to help me with this worthy project, we can use your help paying for the t-shirts, printed materials and lunches.  Just send me a note and I will followup. billyk@islc.net

Following are photos exhibiting the students at work and hopefully having fun learning about government and leadership.

  

  

City Business Licenses

Once again the SC General Assembly seems to be 

rearranging the chairs on the decks of the Titanic

With the ongoing consideration, by the SC General Assembly, of either doing away with or capping local business licenses,  there is a lot of misinformation flowing through the mail and emails between citizens and their representatives.  

This is a good discussion as long as the facts are correct and the conversation is civil.  Furthermore, business licenses fees, applications and use of revenues should from time to time be reviewed and possibly modified if necessary.   But this must be done at the local level and not by legislators in Columbia.

Having been a State Representative,  I know that many of these well meaning people,  myself included when I served,  do not have experience at the local level where the rubber hits the road and where citizens expect services.  And they expect them quickly.

Many or these Legislators don't know what citizens go through when their storm water system fails, their roads have potholes that knock their car wheels out of alignment or need paving, and the rights of ways in front of their homes need to be cleaned.  Most of those assets are owned by the state, but not taken care of by the state. So local governments squeeze nickles and dimes from our budget to maintain state assets they will not fix. And now they want us to take over their substandard roads, rights of way and storm water systems many of which are broken. And also remove up to  25-50% of the revenue generated by local government.

I may be missing something, but I think business licenses and property taxes, from small businesses and struggling homeowners,  are better managed by local governments and not the state.  We are in daily contact with our constituents, understand their needs and because we are here on the ground,and seem to handle projects more efficiently and in a less costly manner than Columbia, are in a better position to make these decisions.

A former boss for whom I worked in Washington often told me  there is no education in the second kick of the mule"

An example, obsessed by cutting taxes at the direction of their pollsters, the legislature continues to enact measures without understanding the on the ground consequences.

Remember Act 388 which was to replace property taxes on owner occupied homes with a penny sales tax?  Again while I am sure well meaning, this measure, which they refuse to revisit, has done damage to schools, to businesses and to the state's general fund.

According to the Greenville News, since 2006, school funding from that penny sales tax fell about $1 Billion short of what the legislature projected and the funds are made up through the general fund which takes money from other programs.  And then there was the unintended consequence of leaving the 6% assessment on rental units and businesses making renting more expensive and adding a huge cost to small and large businesses alike.  And I am told there are more second homes and rental properties on the market than ever before because of the unintended tax increase.  

Anyway, as you read about the proposal to cap or do away with business licenses, I wanted to answer some of the basic questions about business licenses that are clearly being misrepresented by Rep Rick Quinn, the author of the measure that would cap or cut business licenses. Unfortunately Rep Quinn cannot see beyond the hallowed halls of the state capital and appears to have not idea of the consequences his measure could bring. 

While there is no elected official who likes taxes, in the name of helping those who were damaged by the unintended consequences of Act 388, some of our legislators believe taking away 25-50% of local revenue is going to repair the damage.  They are wrong.

Business Licensing FAQs

Why is there a business license tax?

• Businesses locate in cities because of the concentration of commercial activity centered in a city. This commercial activity is supported by city services including police services, fire services, zoning, street lights, sidewalks and many others that can't be paid for on an individual usage basis.
• Most public services such as police, fire, zoning, permitting, economic development activities, sidewalk upkeep and street lights cannot be billed based on consumption. Through a business license tax, businesses together help pay for the city services that all businesses benefit from receiving. If our cities, towns and state are going to thrive, public services must be delivered, and the public must cover the cost to provide those services.

How important is the business license tax to city services?

• No one likes to pay taxes, but funding is necessary to provide the services that businesses need to be successful. Each city council makes a determination, based on local priorities, regarding how to fund its local services. By eliminating the business license tax, cities will face a 25 to 50 percent reduction in funding that will gut their ability to provide services. There is not a city or private business that can lose that percentage of revenue and not cut services.
• There is no alternative revenue stream for cities to use to replace the gap that would be created if cities were to lose a quarter to a half of their funding. City leaders have little flexibility in raising revenue because of Act 388's millage and reassessment caps and restrictions on the use of other revenue sources such as hospitality and accommodations taxes. This is in addition to the shrinking allocation from the Local Government Fund.
• A city's ability to finance equipment or projects will be devastated since lenders require a city to prove it has reliable, uninterrupted revenues that are sufficient to pay back a loan. Cities with existing debt risk default since they counted on business license revenue to help them pay back their loans.

How is the current municipal business license tax calculated for a specific business?

• Using the Municipal Association's model business license ordinance, every business type as defined by the North American Industrial Classification System is placed in a rate classification system. The rate class that a business is placed in depends on the average profitability of that type of business based on IRS income data. Business types with a high profitability history are placed in the highest rate classes. Business types with a low profitability history are placed in lower rate classes.
• Cities determine their own rates for each class based on the council's budgeting priorities and how they may raise revenue based on the profile of their individual community.

• The City of Beaufort has had the same Business License rates for over 7 years as follows:

• A business license tax is calculated by multiplying the rate assigned to the class for that business type by the gross receipts of that business that operates within that city.  Gross receipts is used as a general predictor of volume of a business and its dependence on city services.
  • o   For example, all fast-food restaurants are placed in the same rate class and charged the same business license rate. The difference in what two fast-food restaurants pay in a business license tax is, therefore, the difference in the volume of business of each as measured by gross receipts.
• Historically, over the past 7 years, the City's Business License Tax collections represent an average of 0.2% of the gross sales generated within the City limits.