TAX INCREASE LIKELY FOR CITY OF LANDRUM
Working through the budget for the City of Landrum, city officials understand the impact of increasing taxes on its residents. It’s never an easy decision to raise taxes.
In September of 2024, Landrum suffered from the impact of Hurricane Helene. The storm caused widespread damage, including flooding roadways, power outages, overflowing storm water systems, downed trees and utility lines. This unprecedented natural disaster is an occurrence that has never been witnessed by our community.
After severely depleting the city’s reserve funds to allow for storm clean-up and repairs for our residents, it left the city with insufficient emergency funds. In order for the City of Landrum to be able to perform like we did during Helene and to provide the resources and funding for future crises, city officials have been researching ways to generate revenues.
The budget revenues and expenditures are basically the same as last year; however, the budget is funded more by incoming revenues rather than savings.
The tax rate has not been raised by the City of Landrum since 2021. Out of the 12 municipalities in the county, Landrum was ranked 11th lowest in property tax rates.
In order to generate essential revenue for critical services supporting the higher quality of life in Landrum, city officials must turn to the property tax because it is the primary source of revenue for the city.
Changes in property taxes affect households while allowing local jurisdictions to meet the needs of their residents more effectively through additional community services. A substantial portion of your total property tax bill goes to the local school district. Another portion also goes to the fire department, a critical community service. The county receives a large share for administration, law enforcement, streets maintenance, and recreation services.
The property tax is a vital revenue of the city government. For Landrum city residents, only 14% of your total property tax bill goes to fund city services like police, streets, zoning, and code enforcement. The rest goes to the other entities.
It is crucial for local governments to be forthcoming about their revenues and how they will be generated. In doing so, the city has been researching previous years when taxes were not raised, as well as comparing the fees and rates of other jurisdictions to Landrum’s. Developmental fees, rental fees, and business license rates will be increasing.
The city will be working to rent the properties it owns more effectively to also generate essential revenue. It’s our responsibility to monetize our assets and take care of them. In conclusion, the city sees the need to diversify and raise revenues across the board as most of its rates and fees are lower than other jurisdictions. It’s been that way for some time.
The council is listening and responding to our citizens’ wishes regarding public safety, a full-time city administrator, recreation and managing growth. It is necessary to manage growth through good planning, quality zoning and strategic economic development. The city also needs to make sure staff have competitive wages. Small towns often face budget constraints and rising costs for services. It is important that the city is accountable for delivering on promised improvements and services.
The city recently balanced its budget by using the 11 mill rate, however, the county’s revenue projection indicates the city needs to increase the millage to 15.2 mills. Therefore, city officials may consider raising the rate to 18.3 mills to shore up its reserves.
At the proposed tax rate (.0879), a homeowner with a home valued at $150,000 will pay $9.00 more per month compared to this year. A $300,000 home will cost the owner $18.00 more per month. Compared to other municipalities in the county, this puts Landrum rates in the middle.
If the proposed FY 26 Budget is revised and adopted, the City of Landrum will be off to a good start in providing citizens with the excellent level of services that you have come to expect. A tax increase is necessary would help bridge budget gaps and avoid cuts to vital programs and services.
