Members of Town Council's Intergovernmental Relations Committee said Tuesday that the intent of the golf course bill, which would change the way counties assess the value of public courses, is good. But the three members also said they don't support the bill as proposed, or any changes that would create a tax shortfall.
Under a House version of the bill, Beaufort County would lose about $1.5 million, and in total more than $7.9 million would be lost across the state, said Bernice Wright, the county's assessor. A version in the Senate would result in a smaller county shortfall and about $5.6 million lost statewide.
Golf course owners are concerned that the state allows counties to use different formulas to calculate the assessed value of public courses. The inconsistencies of valuing courses has led to problems, Cary Corbitt, head of the Lowcountry Golf Course Owners Association, told the committee.
For instance, he said, Harbour Town Golf Links, the state's most profitable course, is valued at less than $10 million, while less profitable courses on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, are valued at between $22 million and $25 million.
There are many other difficulties, he said.
"All we want is a fair system that works for everybody," Corbitt said, adding that golf courses are not looking for a tax break.
Committee members said they were sympathetic. But, they said, a method must be reached that won't create shortfalls.
Councilman Ken Heitzke, a committee member, said the current proposal would be difficult to make work because valuation processes differ from county to county, and individual counties would need a different level of taxation to keep revenues from golf courses at the current level.
Tuesday night, the full council authorized Mayor Tom Peeples to write a letter opposing the bill in its current form.
The committee also recommended the town oppose a bill that would give the state authority to regulate some freshwater wetlands. Town officials fear the bill would remove the town's authority to regulate isolated freshwater wetlands, or wetlands with no surface connection to other bodies of water.
There are an estimated 200,000 acres of isolated freshwater wetlands in South Carolina's coastal plain. In Beaufort County, there are about 16,000 acres of freshwater wetlands.
Some isolated wetlands are dry during a part of the year and others are fed by groundwater. Isolated wetlands provide critical habitat for many species, filter stormwater runoff and minimize the impact of floods, as well as helping to restore groundwater stores, scientists say.
In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that isolated freshwater wetlands did not fall under the federal Clean Water Act. Legislators have vacillated on how large a freshwater wetland should be before the state can regulate it. It has been as small as 1 acre, and is currently at 5 acres, said Greg DeLoach, Hilton Head Island's deputy town manager.
But as it's currently written, the bill removes the authority of local governments to create more stringent protections for wetlands affected by the bill. It's also unclear how large a wetland would have to be before it falls under the proposed law.
The town has far more stringent regulations than the state, and town regulations apply to any wetland, no matter the size, said Sally Krebs, the town's natural resources coordinator.
"... Our wetlands protections would be null and void under this act" in all areas large enough to fall under the bill, Krebs said. "From my viewpoint as a biologist, this does not protect wetlands."