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At its September 21 meeting, the Allendale County Council approved an ordinance that will create a tax anticipation note of up to $1.5 million. Additionally, the council addressed other issues regarding taxation.
Tax Anticipation Note
Tax anticipation notices are a loan that governments can use that allow them to borrow against future tax revenues that will be collected. The county’s chief financial officer, Chanel Lewis, said that this tax note will be paid back by March 15, 2024.
“[A tax anticipation note] helps you get through a time when revenues are slow coming in,” Lewis said. “When your taxes start coming in — the bulk of which happens in December and March — that’s when you pay it back. This is just bridge financing.”
Lewis said the loan does not yet have an interest rate, and once an interest rate is offered, the council will have to vote to approve it. However, given current high interest rates within the financial system, Lewis said the interest rate that ends up being offered will likely be high.
Tin Thanh Update
During council chair Matthew Connelly’s report, he delivered an update on Allendale’s new tire factory, which will be run by Vietnamese company Tin Thanh Group Americas. Connelly said several engineers from the company, as well as its chief executive officer, will be visiting Allendale between October 23 and 25.
Additionally, Connelly said that council members have been attending regional workforce education events. Workforce education is one of multiple barriers that workers face in getting jobs in higher paying manufacturing industries. The state of South Carolina, as well as the county of Allendale have made large efforts to increase workforce education, as well as access to trade schools and technical training.
“People offered some suggestions on how we need workforce education,” Connelly said. “We talked about workforce education and training for the new [tire] plant coming into our region.”
Road damage
Logging is a major industry within Allendale County, with trucks carrying timber constantly coming and going on county roads.
“Our public works supervisor…he’s having a problem with loggers on dirt roads,” said council member Willa Jennings. “One particular road, Blair Road, [has had] so much damage on the road. [They] agreed that the logging company will pay for the damage. The company, which is not from Allendale County, is causing a lot of damage and costing the county a lot of money.”
Blair Road is within Jennings’ district.
