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GEORGETOWN — Georgetown is one of only three counties in South Carolina without a local sales tax.

But with two referendum questions on the ballot, that could soon change.

Voters are deciding whether to approve a local option sales tax and a capital project sales tax. Each would add 1 percent to items already subject to the state's 6 percent sales tax, bringing the total sales tax to 8 percent.

The taxes would not be charged on housing, groceries, fuel, prescription medication or vehicles, said Walt Ackerman, the county's director of administrative services.

About 75 percent of the tax revenue would be collected from tourists, people passing through the county and those paying for goods produced by local industries. That would shift much of the tax burden off of residents. All the benefits would go to the people of Georgetown County, Ackerman said.

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The proposed sales taxes would go into effect in May 2025. Each tax is projected to collect at least $10 million a year.

Local option sales tax (LOST)

The local option sales tax aims to cut property taxes for Georgetown County residents.

Seventy-one percent of the revenue collected would help lower the property tax burden of residents. The remaining 29 percent would go to the county and municipalities for operational needs.

It’s expected that the average household in Georgetown County would pay roughly $58 in LOST sales taxes per year. In return, they would receive about $477 in a tax credit.

The estimates are based on the average home price in the county, which is $200,000, and the average price of one vehicle.

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Here’s the amount of LOST credit the average household in each municipality would receive according to county data:

Town of Pawleys Island: $477.37

Town of Andrews: $536.13

City of Georgetown: $653.70

Unincorporated areas: $477.37

Properties with higher taxable values would receive higher tax credits. Residents can use the calculator on the Georgetown County website to estimate the amount they could receive.

The LOST sales tax doesn’t have a built-in sunset date. If approved, it would take a referendum to remove it.

Ackerman said people concerned about the benefits of the LOST tax should look at nearby Charleston and Berkeley counties, which have used similar 1 percent sales taxes for years.

"In the history of local option sales tax, I can’t find an instance where somebody even tried to vote it out," Ackerman said.

Capital project sales tax

Money collected from the capital project sales tax would be used to pay for infrastructure projects.

A commission appointed by Georgetown County Council compiled a priority list and a contingency list of projects. Contingency list items would be funded with any money left over after priority projects are completed.

It would take about 10 years to finish all the projects on the priority list, Ackerman said.

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Projects on that list include the construction of a new emergency operations center, new fire stations, storm water projects, recreational facility projects and a bus terminal in Georgetown.

The highest priority project is the installation of a sewer system in the Sampit community, Ackerman said. At the moment, Sampit residents use septic systems. When it rains, they sometimes can’t flush their toilets.

A complete list of the projects that would be funded by this tax will be included on the ballot with a brief description of each project. The list can also be found on the Georgetown County website.

Georgetown County last approved a capital project sales tax in 2014. It collected $41 million over four years and funded dredging in Murrells Inlet, road resurfacing and fire service improvements.

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The new capital sales tax would be collected for eight years.

The sales tax questions are not partisan, so submitting a straight party ticket will not automatically answer them, Ackerman said. Voters will need to scroll all the way to the end of each sales tax description and manually click either the yes or no button to vote on the taxes.

Early voting is underway now and continues through Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 5.

GEORGETOWN — The Hammock Coast attracts a certain type of tourist, and the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce insists that visitor is generally not the same one who hits the T-shirt shops, mini-golf courses and crowded coastline of Myrtle Beach.

The distinction is even part of the chamber's marketing strategy. Tourism leaders tout the area's history and natural beauty, and they target visitors interested in those things.

"Those folks usually have a different imprint on the community and footprint on the community," said Beth Stedman, CEO of the chamber of commerce. "They're more concerned that they enjoy it, but that they are enjoying it respectfully."

Known for communities like Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet and Litchfield Beach, Georgetown County is celebrated as a natural getaway. Visitors head to the lush landscapes of Brookgreen Gardens and the saltmarsh of Huntington Beach State Park. Two new state parks are also planned for the county.

Earlier this year, Pawleys was named “Best Beach in South Carolina” by the USA Today/10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

When tourism leaders developed The Hammock Coast brand nearly 15 years ago, they knew they needed to avoid the word Georgetown because there are so many places with that name. They also wanted to distinguish themselves, not only from their northern neighbor but also from the Charleston area.

"We're comfortably nestled between Charleston and Myrtle Beach," said Mark Stevens, the chamber's tourism development director. "We're totally different than both of them."

The Hammock Coast sees more multi-generational travel. It’s common for grandparents to bring their children and grandchildren and for people to return to the area for decades. Additionally, Georgetown County primarily offers vacation rentals like Airbnbs, while Myrtle Beach is dominated by hotels.

Recently, the chamber has been working to strengthen The Hammock Coast brand and to emphasize the qualities that set it apart from other nearby tourist areas. Two new initiatives will expand on that work.

Strengthening the brand

Georgetown County's tourism revenue has steadily increased since local leaders began branding the area as The Hammock Coast in 2010.

The county saw a record-setting year for tourism during the last fiscal year, with over $3.3 million collected in accommodations taxes. These taxes are charged to travelers staying in temporary lodging like hotels or Airbnbs.

Most of the county's A-tax money is collected from southern Garden City and the Waccamaw Neck, Stevens said.

Despite that success, the chamber sees growth potential. That's why they want more detailed information about their visitors. They hope that by collecting that data they can sharpen their marketing efforts.

Beginning next month, Georgetown County will partner with a technology firm to track where visitors are traveling from and what they do during their stay, Stedman said.

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She said a better understanding of visitor habits will allow the chamber to more effectively target tourists through its marketing.

The program will use cell phone data and geofencing to track the movements of visitors, Stedman said. Geofencing refers to the creation of virtual boundaries. A software response is triggered when mobile devices pass through the boundaries, allowing for the tracking of individuals.

“So it really lets us get a sense of the things that people are attracted to and that people are doing while they're in market,” Stedman said.

Sunny Kim, a professor of hospitality, resort and tourism management at Coastal Carolina University, said it could be tricky to effectively use the collected data if the chamber doesn't have clear objectives. Sometimes, it can be hard to know which data to focus on or how to analyze it effectively.

"However, if Georgetown adopts new technology to track tourists, particularly from a smart tourism perspective, it could open up new opportunities," she said.

In addition to improved marketing efforts, this data could help local leaders make informed decisions about infrastructure projects, zoning, policy, and event design, Kim said. It could also be used to attract new businesses to the area, including those in hospitality and tourism.

Although Georgetown County has seen an increase in tourism since the Hammock Coast brand was trademarked, the chamber of commerce is still looking for ways to make the community stand out, Stevens said.

“We’ve been pushing that brand out as we have to do, to other states, the East Coast, etcetera," he said. "But it’s part of, you know, making sure the brand is known locally as well."

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One way the chamber hopes to increase local awareness is by installing large “Welcome to the Hammock Coast” signs on U.S. Highway 17 on the north and south ends of Georgetown County.

The sign project, which would be funded by grant money, is still in the early stages. There is no official design or timeline for the project yet.

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"We are really excited to be working on that project," she said. "It'll take a little bit (before it's ready)."

The chamber of commerce will work with S.C. Department of Transportation to figure out the logistics of the project.

With tourism being a vital part of Georgetown County's economy, Stevens said it's important to use new tools to keep visitors returning.

"Tourism here is always going to be one of the economic drivers in this county," he said.

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Fellow Georgetown County residents:

Realtors are good neighbors. The members of Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS have served their communities, promoted private property rights, and advocated for maintaining reasonable property taxes for nearly 80 years.

Part of being a good neighbor includes sharing information with one another to ensure collective understanding but it also means bringing hard truths to light. One such truth is that your property taxes will almost certainly increase if the two upcoming penny sales tax referendums do not pass.

The county’s government has done a yeoman's job the last few years of balancing its budget but the fact remains that we lack the multitude of major commercial employment centers that our neighboring counties enjoy, which also help to keep their residential property taxes down. Without these resources, the county struggles to keep up with rising inflationary costs, including those related to labor, not to mention the inability to fund crucial capital improvements. In order to keep our public servants on staff, we have to offer benefits that make us competitive with our neighboring communities.

Whether it be balancing the budget, completing direly needed infrastructure projects, or improving our community’s collective safety, the county has exhausted efforts to continue to keep property taxes low. It is clear that without allowing our visitors to help us pay 40% of these costs, we as residents will bear 100% of the cost through a property tax increase. I think we can all agree that’s the last thing we want to see occur. Let me be clear, I'm not saying that your property taxes will never go up in the future; what I can say with certainty is that the implementation of the two penny sales taxes will keep your property taxes lower than if we did not have the penny sales taxes.

I encourage you to visit bettergeorgetowncounty.org to learn more about the opportunities the two penny sales taxes will bring to our greater community as well as how you will directly benefit financially.

I’ll highlight two benefits here:

-A county-wide, legally required property reassessment will take place next year. It’s almost guaranteed that your property value has risen since 2019. The local option sales tax credit can help to offset any potential property tax increase you may experience due to an increase in your property value.

-Each district in our county will receive a physical improvement to their community but beyond that, we all benefit from the opportunity to have a brand new Emergency Operations/911 Center that doesn’t flood during a disaster. This is a basic need for the times in which we live.

I ask you to think about your fellow Georgetonians, your neighbors and friends; vote YES and YES for a better Georgetown County.

LAURA CROWTHER

CEO of the Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS