A $62 million budget vote is coming tonight in North Augusta, with property tax adjustments and fees for water getting discussed. (For more info, read more at the end of our story.)
This is on the heels of new impact fees that took effect on Saturday, November 1. These fees impact developers and homeowners.
Tiffany Heitzman (pictured above), Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association Greater Aiken-Augusta Region, told ABD she sees the potential for a negative effect on growth.
These impact fees will be charged on new commercial, residential, and mixed-use projects such as Bluegrass Place on E. Martintown Road and The Hive at exit one off Interstate 20.
“I think, for housing, it’s already challenging enough for families to afford to own a home, in this climate that we’re in right now. So, adding two, three, four, five, six, maybe $10,000, it may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but it’s a lot of money to families who are already stretched,” she said.
She also wondered why a portion of the money had been designated for the Parks and Recreation Department’s budget.
“Our builders and developers pretty much put parks and recreation in each new neighborhood because it’s required by the city already that they have that certain amount of green space. Sidewalks, trees, and, depending on what other requirements they might have, could be a dog park or a playground, or things like that,” she explained.
The fees, ranging from $2,315 for residential customers with the smallest meter and up to $90,000 for a new commercial building, will be levied on new development in the city. Funds raised will also go to sanitation and water, along with parks and recreation.
A few weeks ago, North City Administrator Jim Clifford briefed council members on how the impact fees would work.
“To put it in very short terms, this would allow for impact fees, largely on the residential components, to affect our parks and rec and then also to our utilities, which would eventually fund sanitation trucks for the growth of the neighborhood,” he explained.
Not all council members supported adopting the impact fees.
“During the first discussion of the impact fees, I was not in favor of them. I’m still not in favor of them,” said council member John Felak. “I know there’s a lot of good that can be done with it. I just don’t like some of the provisions of it, the percentages of it, the extra work that’s involved in it. And just didn’t think that as a personal position, that the impact fees are good for our new development.”
TONIGHT’S COUNCIL MEETING
Tonight, at the North Augusta Municipal building, Council members will be asked to vote on ordinances setting the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, setting the property tax, and fees for water service. This will be the second reading for each ordinance. The budget totals just over $62 million and proposes a two-mill increase in the property tax.
Also up for a vote on its second reading is an ordinance to change the general election date to align with the federal election cycles in November. The goal is to boost voter interest and turnout.
Also on the Monday night agenda is a request from landowners to annex 67.45 acres on Hammond Pond Road. It will close a so-called “donut hole,” that is, a property in unincorporated Aiken County that is surrounded by the city. This will be the first reading of the ordinance, which was recommended for approval by the planning commission. This is for only the annexation request. The developer has not yet submitted a site plan or preliminary plan.
A Power Hour to hear citizen concerns not on the meeting agenda will start at 5:30 p.m. The council meeting in the municipal building at 100 Georgia Avenue begins at 6 p.m.
