Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Town of Williston passed the final reading of ordinances raising water, trash, and sewer rates, as well as an ordinance for the next fiscal year’s budget at their June 10 meeting.
Rates for water, trash, and sewer services will all add one dollar to the base rate, and become effective on July 1. Williston residents will see these prices reflected on their monthly bill.
For trash services, the new monthly rate for residential roll-out carts is $17. It was previously $16. Residents having more than one roll-out cart will be charged the $17 monthly rate times the number of carts picked up (two carts equals $34).
Residents living outside the corporate limits are provided collection services upon approval of the sanitation supervisor. The rate for non-residents has increased from $22 to $23.
The town is contracted with S&S Disposal based in Ehrhardt.
In regard to water services, each customer’s bill is composed of two charges: a fixed base rate and a consumption charge.
The fixed base rate will be increasing from $14.96 to $15.96 for residents inside the corporate limits. The new rate for residents outside the corporate limits will be $23.45.
Sewer services are calculated using the same format, by combining the base rate and customer consumption. The monthly residence rate is now $20.87, and non-residential is $30.79.
The council approved the first reading of these increases on May 13, as previously reported by The People-Sentinel.
Prior to the regular meeting on June 10, the council held a public hearing for the community to learn more about the budget approval appearing on the regular meeting agenda. Public hearings are required to be held prior to adopting a municipal budget.
Revenue for the current 2023-2024 Fiscal Year (FY) is $2,675,000, equaling expenditures for a balanced budget.
The projected revenue for the 2024-2025 FY is $2,877,104, also matching expenditures.
This increase in yield is reflective of an increased millage rate. FY 2023-24 had a millage rate of 70, and the estimated millage rate for FY 2024-25 is 72.5. Millage is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the value of an assessed property.
According to the budget-adoption ordinance, there will be “a tax of seven dollars on every one hundred dollars in value of real estate and personal property.”
The Town of Williston maintains their general fund comprising each department’s budget: administration, police, fire, sanitation, maintenance, recreation, beautification, magistrate, and activities/concessions. The projected revenue for the entirety of the general fund for FY 2024-25 is $1,082,659.
Here is a breakdown of the projected total expenses for each department:
The public works department is not included in the general fund budget, and totals $1,074,445 in projected revenue for the next budget cycle.
These figures equal the projected $2.87 million.
A copy of the budget in full is available on the town’s website: https://www.williston-sc.com/
