Amid the uncertainty, some officials are acting, including Berkeley County Supervisor Jim Rozier.

"It's got us in a tailspin at this point," Rozier said last week. "I will be recommending to council tonight that we postpone reassessment."

Rozier said the county's reassessment is scheduled to take effect this year, and it is expected to reduce the county's tax rate by about 5 mills, or about $20 on a $100,000 home. Those whose property rose fastest in value could pay more, even with the lower tax rate.

If the county postpones reassessment, "then that 5-mill reduction goes away at this point," he said.

Earlier this month, in the waning hours of the session, the General Assembly approved a bill that would cap the increases on real property at 20 percent during reassessment years. The bill was designed to protect property owners from seeing sharp spikes in their tax bills.

South Carolina counties, several of which are undergoing a reassessment, still have more questions than answers at this point.

The first and biggest question is whether Gov. Mark Sanford will sign the bill and make it law. Sanford's office has said only that he is reviewing it.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking in counties such as Berkeley and Dorchester that are reassessing their properties this year.

Asked how the bill is affecting Dorchester County, Assessor Greg Thacker replied: "We're still trying to figure it out for ourselves, actually. We're trying to make plans. If the governor does sign off on it, then it requires changes in our programs in order to do the calculations that we need to do."

In Berkeley, the safe play seems to be seeking a one-year extension before putting reassessment in place instead of trying to proceed under a cloud.

"You're danged if you do; you're danged if you don't," Rozier said. "I can't find anybody that truly understands it."

The S.C. Department of Revenue has fielded several calls from anxious officials.

"We have had quite a bit of contacts with the counties calling us and talking about the situations that might evolve if it is signed into law by the governor," department spokesman Danny Brazell said. "We have talked about contingencies here, including the legal problems that may arise."

If Sanford signs the 20 percent cap bill, it is expected to be challenged in court. The uncertainty over such a lawsuit adds to the confusion.

While the easy route might be for all counties to delay their reassessment, Brazell noted that state law allows counties only a single, one-year postponement, and some counties, such as Beaufort and Dorchester, already have used that up.

"We have already postponed our reassessment once. I'm not sure we could do it again," Thacker said.

Brazell added: "If some legal action is initiated, what happens? Do we stop? We'll have to sit down with the counties and our attorneys with the Department of Revenue."

Charleston County, which will undergo its reassessment next year, already has an ordinance in place that would enact a 15 percent cap. Its attorneys are reviewing, but still undecided on, whether the 20 percent cap bill would overrule the 15 percent cap option, Charleston County Council Chairman Barrett Lawrimore said Friday.

"I don't really know where we stand legally right now," Lawrimore said.

Charleston County enacted a 15 percent reassessment cap four years ago, but the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that the county implemented it in an illegal way. Officials want to make sure that the next time the county tries to cap property reassessment, it doesn't face a similar fate.

"Rebilling is expensive," Lawrimore said.

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