North Augusta Proposes Property Tax Increase to Fund Personnel, Equipment

North Augusta plans a 2-mill property tax hike for 2027. The money will pay for personnel, equipment, and the final step in ending lease-purchase agreements. A typical homeowner with a $335,000 property would pay about $27 more in city taxes next year.

Aiken County completed a reassessment this year. Home values climbed, which adds to the proposed hike. The millage rate would actually drop, but the municipality proposed a partial rollback. This keeps two mills for the city and one mill for homeowners.

Residents on city wastewater would pay about $3 more over the whole year. Water and sanitation fees won't change. The fire protection fee might jump 25% if City Council approves the budget as presented.

Sept. 28 marked North Augusta City Council's first look at the proposed budget. The Council will host a Q&A about the budget on Oct. 12, then hold the public hearing and first reading on Oct. 19. The final reading happens Nov. 2.

These sit apart from bigger projects funded by the penny sales tax that Aiken County voters renewed two years ago. "When we talk about big-swing projects, things that are high-dollar impact and high-dollar value, we're largely funding those out of the Capital Projects Sales Tax — the penny sales tax," said North Augusta City Administrator Jim Clifford, per the Post and Courier. "Resurfacing roads, building a new fire station, rebuilding Fire Station… these are million- or multi-million-dollar projects, and the Capital Projects Sales Tax is the fund that can support those kind of large swings."