CHAPIN, S.C. — The Town of Chapin had its first reading for the establishment of a hospitality tax Tuesday.
"The town has been going through a process of evaluating what we have and what we need in the community for both residents and for businesses," Chapin Director of Public Affairs Nicholle Burroughs told Street Squad noting all of the entities they had conversations with, "all these things were to really compile information to help us plan better for the future."
"One of the shortcomings we have is a revenue shortfall," Burroughs says, "in order to do any long-term or large-scale projects, we really don't have the revenue right now."
Burroughs says one of the ways to create this revenue is to generate this revenue is to get long-term, large-scale projects in the works that benefit residents and the community. "That will enable to businesses to do better and, in turn, the town to do better," Burroughs says.
"We evaluated several different options of ways to go through and get some revenue. For us, we didn't want to tax our residence anymore, we didn't want the burden to fall squarely on our small businesses- we value them," Burroughs explains, "So we felt like the hospitality tax was a great way for the entire community to contribute to the Town of Chapin and really get something out of it."
The hospitality tax will be a 2% tax on all prepared foods, including restaurants, grocery stores, convenient stores, anything meant to be consumed.
"The nice thing about that is yes, it is a 2% tax but on a $10 bill, you're talking 20 cents," Burroughs explains, "and its just a pass through so its not put on the business owner, its really anyone who comes through the town. I'm a great example- I live in Prosperity but I eat in Chapin every single day, so I would be contributing something towards projects that are ultimately going to benefit the community."
And some of those projects have already been discussed. Burroughs tells us there are some major SCDOT projects that will invest millions of dollars in the Chapin community over 10 years. One being enhancements to street scaping including mast arms, pedestrian lighting, sidewalks and landscaping.
They also wanted to focus on some smaller, more immediate impact projects as well, "those different things were our property behind Town Hall has a beautiful 17 acre wooded area," Burroughs says, "we really wanted to add some walking trails and preserve some green space." This idea coming from the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission's master plan developed earlier this year.
Other projects identified include sidewalk construction and connection as well as wayfinding signage for the town. "There's really not anything right now in Chapin to orient you to where you are or where other community resources would be," Burroughs explains, "So we'd really love to connect people to Dreher Island or to the Palmetto Trail, some of these really major community resources."
Burroughs says the overwhelming response from this hospitality tax has been positive with, of course, the few here and there who do not approve. "Because of the current revenue process that we have, this was really the most beneficial option. It got us the best return on investment but also was the least intrusive," Burroughs says, "It's an option, so people like that, that they can choose whether or not they wanted to participate in this tax."
Overall, though, Burroughs says with this tax and any taxes in general, the Town of Chapin believes in being transparent with their community. "We want to make sure that the community understands what projects we're working on, that its their money and that they understand that we are being prudent with that," Burroughs tells Street Squad, "So, in the actual ordinance we wrote in a requirement to make sure that on a monthly basis we have a reporting requirement to do that publicly." Burroughs says at every town council meeting there will be a presentation on what's been spent out of the hospitality money and what has come into it. "So, the public will understand as we're acrewing this, where the money is going and so for a long-term project- like we talked about the street scaping- where it might not be several years until you actually see that money being spent, you know how much is being reserved for it. So the public aware every step of the way and if they have any questions, we're always here to answer them."
In addition to the monthly transparency, they will also have an annual budget for the tax. As part of that process they will come up with a plan for that money.
The second and final reading for this tax will be at the next council meeting on December 3. If passed, the tax would not go into effect until February.
With questions on the hospitatliy tax or future planning of Chapin, you can contact Nicholle Burroughs at communications@chapinsc.com or at 803-575-8039. Business owners with inquiries can contact Chapin's finance director Laura Culler at laura@chapinsc.com or 803-345-2444.
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