Emerson Read bought the Charleston single house at 19 King St. 40 years ago, raised a large family there and wants to stay.

But it's getting more difficult because he lives in a highly desirable part of the city where property values -- and property taxes -- have soared. Ten years ago, he and his wife turned part of their home into a bed and breakfast to bring in extra income.

Read's tax bill was $8,698 last year, and his next bill will total about $13,400, a 54 percent increase. The rise stems partly from Charleston County's reassessment and partly from a tax increase by the Charleston County School District.

When tax bills arrive in the mail, many homeowners can expect similar news. Some of Read's neighbors on King Street will see their bills more than double, according to The Post and Courier's analysis of figures from the county assessor and auditor.

Overall, the tax bill on the average county home, now worth $273,000, is going up 30 percent, from $1,363 to $1,772. On Sullivan's, Kiawah and the Isle of Palms, the average tax increase will be more than $1,400. In West Ashley and North Charleston, the average increase will be less than $300.

In one sense, this is nothing new: These kinds of increases mirror what ultimately happened during the county's previous reassessments.

But a growing number of people, including Read, hope this marks a kind of tipping point, a time when the public outcry will force state officials to make significant changes to the property tax system.

"There's going to be an uprising," Read said. "That's what I'm counting on."

GOING UP A LOT

Earlier this year, owners of homes and other property across Charleston County received notices showing how much the county now thinks their property is worth.

This reassessment has gone relatively smoothly, Assessor Mike Huggins said.

Earlier this month, his office had received appeals from only about 3 percent of all property owners, and he expected the final appeal rate to be no more than 5 percent. That's down sharply from the 1993 reassessment, when about 10 percent of property owners appealed.

During the 2001 reassessment, the appeal rate was lower than the 1993 rate, but that was partly because the values were capped at 15 percent. That cap ultimately was ruled illegal and struck from the books.

Reassessment is designed to redistribute the tax burden according to what property is really worth. It also has the effect of shifting more of the burden to real property owners, while owners of cars and other personal property get a break.

But reassessment is only part of the story behind this year's bills.

Local governments are not supposed to profit from reassessment, but they can as long as they hold the proper public hearings, Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Hall said. "If you advertise you're going to have public meetings and invite people to the meetings, then you can do whatever you want. It's really open-ended."

The Charleston County School Board passed a steep tax increase this summer. This year, it collected about $160 million in taxes on real property; next year, it plans to collect about $220 million.

Trident Technical College, the St. Andrews Public Service District and some other fire districts also approved smaller increases.

As a result, about nine of every 10 county property owners can expect to pay more. About 5 percent will pay less, and another 6 percent will see their bills relatively unchanged, rising or falling by no more than $25, the newspaper's analysis showed.

Those percentages stay the same whether homes are valued at $150,000 or more than $600,000 or somewhere in between.

Some homeowners will see big percentage increases, while others face big dollar increases. The average homeowner in the town of Awendaw will see his bill rise by 95 percent, or about $547. The average homeowner on Kiawah Island will see his bill rise by only 21 percent, well under the county average, but he still will pay about $1,600 more in taxes this year.

Read said his tax bill was about $400 when he first bought his home for $45,000 in 1965. If the bill rose at the same rate as inflation, then it would total about $2,300. Instead, his bill will be more than five times that amount.

Nancy Hawk's bill on her 1 Meeting St. home is expected to increase by about $14,000 and will total almost twice what she paid this year.

She, like Read, has a pending appeal and hopes to bring that number down, but it's unclear how successful she will be.

If her appeal fails, Hawk's bill will be more than $30,000 -- which is what she paid for her home in 1961. "I appealed right away. I won't be able to stay here if I have to pay that kind of tax," she said. "If I sold my house, then I would have the money to pay it."

A STATE DEBATE

Charleston County Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis said he expects to hear from property owners whose bills have gone up, but there's nothing that county government can do.

"We don't have any options really," he said. "Whatever options we have, we've tried and been rejected on."

The upward tax pressure also stems from a few other changes, such as the Legislature's decision to lower assessments on cars. "Some counties have simply raised their millage to make up for that. Charleston hasn't done that," Stavrinakis said.

State Sen. Glenn McConnell has vowed to make property tax reform the biggest issue in next year's legislative session.

The Charleston Republican, who serves as the Senate Pro Tem and chair of its judiciary committee, said for too many, property taxes are rising faster than the owner's personal income.

"These Charleston numbers will help us persuade some of the skeptics that we've got to act," he said.

McConnell and other lawmakers have already been holding hearings across the state to drum up support for change. Suggestions have ranged from increasing the sales tax by 2 or 3 percent to increasing cigarette taxes to allowing new forms of gambling to shifting more education funding to the state level.

"I think if we came back to Charleston and had another public meeting, we'd have to move it to a larger auditorium," he said.

Early next month, a legislative subcommittee will pore over the options and try to pick the best. Some might be approved by next spring; other ideas might have to be put before the voters as a constitutional amendment in November 2006.

"Of course, what's happening in Charleston is going to happen in other counties that have resort properties and second homes," McConnell said. "We're creating a society where homeowners will have to become nomads. The next time they could be in North Charleston. Or they could jump out in West Ashley. It depends on where the market speculates. The homeowners are helpless. They have to pack up and move or they have to find some money."

Read said his current plans are to mobilize as many people as he possibly can to keep the pressure on lawmakers, and his group, "Save Our Homes from Taxation," is eyeing public meetings in Richland County, Myrtle Beach, Florence, Mount Pleasant, Hilton Head and Walterboro.

One thing is clear. What is going on with Charleston County property taxes won't escape the notice of those in the highest of places: The bill on Gov. Mark Sanford's Sullivan's Island home is set to rise 43 percent, from about $10,300 to $14,725.

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Robert Behre covers Charleston County. He can be reached at 937-5771 or by e-mail at rbehre@postandcourier.com.