COLUMBIA -- As state senators return to work today to resume debating the issue of property taxes, radio ads are airing statewide that take aim at senators -- including two from the Upstate -- who have opposed some reform proposals.

Senators have spent a week debating various ideas but have not found a consensus for a reform plan that goes beyond giving voters in each county the right to swap a sales tax increase for the elimination of school taxes.

The radio ads, paid for by a property tax reform organization, use a fictional senator "Seesaw," who opposes reform proposals and rails that, "It ain't the people's money! It's the government's."

The fictional senator says Sen. Thomas Alexander, a Walhalla Republican, and Sen. Larry Martin, a Pickens Republican, "are on my side."

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"I'm flattered that they would spend money by placing me and my colleagues in an ad," Martin said.

"I know they feel strongly that they would like the rest of the state to chip in to pay their property taxes down there. And I feel equally as strongly, and I know Sen. Alexander feels the same way, that I'm not going to vote for something that puts our Upstate residents to paying the property taxes for the folks along the coast."

Alexander said he wasn't aware of the ads.

"I'm not against property tax reform," he said, "but I want it to be a workable solution."

He said he has opposed proposals that are out of balance with the budget or set a statewide school tax rate.

Martin has opposed some proposals because he said they benefit homeowners in other parts of the state but not Pickens County.

He fears that pressure from groups representing areas where rising property taxes are a problem will make the Senate pass legislation that could have dramatic impact on the budget and the state's finances for years to come.

"It is a very complicated issue," he said. "Unfortunately we don't have a lot of people on the floor that have a very good understanding of the intricacies of the property tax issue. It's being driven by passion, as much as anything else."

Two plans will compete for the Senate's interest early this week.

One, unveiled two weeks ago by Sen. Larry Grooms, a Berkeley County Republican, and Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Camden Democrat, marries the issues of property tax reform and school funding equity.

The plan would eliminate homeowners' school taxes and set a statewide school tax rate for property other than those homes. It would also increase the sales tax by two cents and remove the sales tax exemption on long-distance phone calls.

The other major plan, pushed by Sen. Jake Knotts, a West Columbia Republican, is similar to the House-passed plan and would reduce most homeowners' taxes while increasing the sales tax by two cents and eliminating the sales tax on groceries. His plan also would add a tax break for industrial property.

Sheheen said Monday he is "optimistic."

"I think we have a pretty historic opportunity to make some substantial and serious change relating to property tax and school funding," he said. "Obviously, the Senate hasn't coalesced around an approach, but I think their minds are still open."

Sen. David Thomas, a Greenville Republican, has criticized Grooms' plan as being too ambitious and complicated. He wants a plan that rolls back taxes but also guards against increases in the future.

"If we don't get this worked out this week, the issue does not end," Thomas said.

"It keeps on going the entire month. There are still a lot of possibilities. I think we're going to work something out as chaotic as it seems right now."