When it comes to water, the residents of Kingstree have had it fairly good. From 2000 to 2008, base rates for residential use within the town limits increased by $3.40. In 2009 the rate was raised but not at current standards and as a result of that lack of prudent managing practices of the past as ignoring improvements to equipment and infrastructure, Kingstree Town Council must now consider changes if basic needs are to be met.

To shed light on the fate of those needs, Kingstree Town Manager Dan Wells prepared a slide presentation for council and the dozen residents who attended the public hearing on Thursday, May 28. He explained that in preparing the budget, council requested options that will allow the town to become grant eligible for some of the stimulus money and USDA and Rural Development grants.

Wells first reiterated from the May 18, council meeting, the differences between the general fund and the water/sewer fund and that the water/sewer fund is not taxed but fee supported. Fees associated with the water/sewer funds are used for activities such as maintaining and making improvements to the system and for the purchase of equipment.
Well’s presentation comprised four options, one being an increase in the water rate. The current rate for 5,000 gallons is $15.20 but in order to qualify for grant money and certain loans, an increase, equivalent to what Williamsburg County currently charges which is approximately $30 for 5,000 gallons of water for a family of four would need to be considered. If the fee isn’t met, then millions in grant money to repair or replace equipment and revamp a 50-year-old deteriorating infrastructure will be lost.

In addition, Wells said that without some kind of an increase, the town would not be able to address major problems quickly, if not at all. A current example is the ongoing dilemma faced by residents living on and near Jackson Street. The sewer line routinely backs up causing flooding and a foul odor. On May 27, the town hired a crew from Georgia who ran a camera through the line. Wells said the crew found some major problems and the problem was restricted to a 500-foot area. He said to imagine an entire town in those circumstances and without some kind of increase they would not have the funds to replace old and worn-out equipment to address the decaying lines. “What difference does that make to you?” said Wells. “If your sewer lines are backed up and our jet truck is not working, it makes a big difference to you because we can’t come out and open your lines up.” He added that while he doesn’t know what the cost is going to be to fix Jackson Street.   If it costs $150,000 or a million to replace that line, they don’t have it and have no choice but to leave it alone. “We’ll have to suffer with the odor and that’s not how things should be,” said Wells. “You shouldn’t have to smell sewer gas inside your home or outside your door in a community that cares about its people.”
Wells also said sludge that runs through the wastewater system generates a product that must be dumped in the landfill at $130,000 per year in disposal costs. He said with a water rate increase, the town could purchase the equipment and obtain permits to dry the sludge and recycle it to farmland.

Other options include no rate increase, adoption of the rate increase in three phases or adopt a 50 percent increase effective July 1, 2009. Wells did say that no increase would still allow for the lease of four new police cars and maintain a balanced budget, but added that it would halt any major water or sewer repairs or replacements, and hinder the town’s goal to demolish dilapidated buildings and clean up lots.

Besides the options, Wells has also proposed a millage increase. Millage in the Town of Kingstree has increase from 0.1426 in 1998 to 0.1486 in 2008. Because there was no increase (adjustment for inflation) in 2006 or 2007, the town is now playing catch-up. A proposed increase of 3.8 percent (allowed by state enacted law), still places property rates at 9.1 percent behind actual cost of living. The rate translates to about $16 on a $75,000 home (home owners over the age of 65 qualify for the Homestead Exemption Act which exempts them from the first $50,000 of value, creating a larger decrease).
The Town of Greeleyville will begin charging $28.41 for 5,000 gallons of water to residential customers effective July 1, 2009. A dozen residents attended the public hearing and several voiced their concerns arguing that rate hikes under the current recession would adversely affect the most, persons on fixed incomes and the poor.
But there were proponents to the increase. “Most of us have cable television and eat at least one meal a week at a restaurant,” said Kent Evans, USDA Rural Development Area Loan Specialist. “But we say we can’t pay one dollar per day for good clean water. I think we need to make some decisions.” He added that the government is not going to allow for grants if the water rates are kept artificially low. “My argument is, if the people outside of the city limits can pay $30.65 for 5,000 gallons of water then why can’t we do it inside the city limits?” He added that the rate for the first 3,000 gallons is $22.75 and a single individual such as an elderly woman on a fixed income would probably stay within that mark, or less than one dollar a day. “The problem is we have done nothing for the last 20 years. We must do something now or we’re going to have a problem in the future as well.”