City Service Fee Refund Not Quite a Done Deal

The refund of the $45 City Services Fee is not quite a done deal. The refund, proposed earlier this year, will end up costing the city $360,334 — $352,305 for the refund and $8,029 for costs.

Repealing the fee will require a change to the city's budget in the middle of the fiscal year, which requires an amendment. And to make an amendment to the budget during the fiscal year requires two readings and last night's was the first. The reading passed by a vote of 4-2. The second reading is expected to occur at the city council meeting on March 19.

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Council members Gabe Hunter and Patricia Gettys voted against the measure. Hunter suggested that the city make the refund optional, and that taxpayers would have to come to City Hall to claim the refund. Hunter believed this might save the city money in both refunds and costs, but his suggestion was not taken up by any of his colleagues.

Hunter also noted that the city must still pay a tipping fee to Greenville County and has done so for the last three years.

Gettys' vote was based on two factors. First, she said, the city has been charged more and more by the county for tipping fees without having passed it along to taxpayers. Additionally, Gettys had doubts that the city would be able to stay under budget this fiscal year and that the $360,000 would only make achieving that more difficult.

The $360,000 will be listed as an expense item in this year's budget according to City Administrator Trey Eubanks.

Any resident who pays the fee before March 16 should receive a refund by April 30.