Roof Repair in Georgetown, SC

GEORGETOWN — Georgetown County landowners will have a few more weeks to pay their property taxes.

County officials said they received an extension from the S.C. Department of Revenue to mail out property tax notices. Taxpayers now have until Feb. 15 to pay their 2023 real estate taxes.

“Property tax bills are already available online and can be paid there any time for those who are trying to get payments in before the end of the year for tax purposes,” county spokeswoman Jackie Broach said. “Residents do not have to wait to receive the paper bill to make a payment.”

County Auditor Ken Baker said the delay in sending the notices stems from printing errors and software problems.

When Baker’s office received tax notice proofs from a contracted vendor, his staff saw that roughly 7,200 accounts had incorrect bills.

State law requires that property values be reassessed every five years, but the law puts a 15 percent cap on how much a property’s assessment can increase. That cap was not factored into the bills of those 7,200 accounts.

“It’s not a lot when you think compared to the entire 56,000 or so tax notices sent out, but we still wanted to be correct,” Baker said.

Georgetown Times

Another challenge was that the county switched from an old computer system to a Windows-based one. There were conversion and compatibility issues.

“The old system we were using was outdated,” Baker said. “It had its own limitations. We basically had one staff member of Management Information Services who could really administer the (older software) and he wants to retire. Over the last couple of years, we have been trying to make it work. It’s not that we don’t want this system, but we had to move forward.”

Baker said the system has since been updated and is running smoothly. Tax notices are online and county officials have been collecting payments since the end of November.

“When it didn’t look like we were going to mail them out in time by the Dec. 15 deadline, I reached out to DOR a few days before and talked to people in some of the governmental services because I wanted to make sure we are following the law,” Baker said. “It’s our job to make sure we are doing that.”

The state agreed on the Feb. 15 deadline, which is exactly one month after they would have been due. Baker said he has approved all of the final tax notice proofs and they are getting ready to be mailed out.

“It’s been pretty stressful but we have a job to do,” said Baker, who was elected in 2020. “Tax season always is. I enjoy helping people.”

Georgetown County government is still dealing with the effects of the Dec. 17 Nor’easter, which dumped nearly 13 inches of rain in the county seat after stalling for hours.

Multiple county departments were forced to relocate from the first floor of the historic Screven Street courthouse after they were damaged by flooding.

The treasurer’s office has temporarily moved its operations to the county council chambers while the stormwater department continues to work out of the Georgetown Airport and the County Emergency Operations Center. The building department has temporarily relocated to the conference room across from the planning department at the courthouse.

It is unknown how long it will take to repair the damaged offices and move the departments back to their normal locations.

“My office didn’t have any damage, but the treasurer’s office was flooded,” Baker said. “They lost multiple computers. They’ve had to relocate up to council chambers. They only have a few computers up there, but it seems they are doing the best they can do with it. It may be slow going, so if someone can pay their taxes online or mail them in, I think it will help them.”

Residents can email the treasurer’s office at taxinfo@gtcounty.org. Tax payments can also be made online at https://georgetowncountysctax.com.

A replica of the flagship of Magellan-Elcano’s expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the globe

Georgetown, November 30th 2023.- The Nao Trinidad will arrive in Georgetown, SC on December 4th. She will dock at Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC.

After visiting Crisfield and Charleston, where she received more than 8000 visitants, she continues her path to Charleston expecting to keep spreading the maritime heritage.

The Nao Trinidad was the flagship of what was called Armada del Maluco (1519-1522), captained by Ferdinand Magellan. Five ships (Naos) departed from Sevilla, but only two made it to the Spice Islands, Nao Trinidad was one of them.

This beautiful replica weights 150Tn, 93ft in length, and has a 26ft beam, three masts and a bowsprit. The height of the mainmast is more than 82 feet, five sails and five decks, built with an exquisite work in Iroko (African hardwood) and pinewood. This ship has sailed to many different ports across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic European Coast as a training vessel and floating museum.

The Naos have this unique and original design that made them the most advanced in naval engineering, used first as cargo ships in Spain and then taking the lead as exploring vessels. She is a full-scale replica, faithful on her design and dimensions. More than a hundred artisans of the sea worked on her construction: such as ship carpenters, rope masters or naval engineers.

The visitors will be able to tour four decks, to feel how the life was like onboard at the time and how it is to live today on an historical ship of these characteristics. They will be able to learn about the maneuvering, the rigging and interact with the crew, who have the most amazing experiences on their long voyages.

About the Nao Victoria Foundation

The Nao Victoria Foundation is a non-profit entity that specializes in sharing the maritime heritage, researching for the recovery, construction and promotion of historical ships, sailing to ports around the world allowing guests to meet history.

The NV Foundation is constantly looking for the historical accuracy combined with innovative techniques in the ship building sector, always following the current international regulations. This represents a massive advance in terms of environmental impact, costs, durability and maintenance of the ships, without affecting their historical aspect, navigability or maneuver.

Tickets Info:

Date: December 5th – December 10th

Location: Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC

Opening times: 10 am – 5pm; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 7pm Tickets: tickets.velacuadra.es

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCSC) - After a 17% utility rate adjustment increase went into effect over the summer, a local leader and former Georgetown council member say the reasons behind the increase are false.

Former Georgetown City Councilmember Sheldon Butts and NAACP South Carolina State Conference Third Vice President Marvin Neil say the decision made by the current administration has lowered the quality of life for residents in the area.

“The common man, woman, elderly person, veteran, that’s on fixed disability, cannot afford that,” Butts says. “It’s just not feasible for individuals who are hardworking or those who are disenfranchised and low income.”

The 17% utility fee increase in the city includes city water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater and electric service fees, except stormwater, which is increased by 9.97%.

The City of Georgetown’s 2024 budget is $44.5 million, increasing $2.5 million from 2023.

“It makes more sense to increase taxes, property tax, but you can’t balance the budget by increasing electrical utilities. That just doesn’t work,” Neil says.

In the city of around 9,000 people, the budget over the last two fiscal years has increased by over $7 million.

“The city of Georgetown has a spending problem, that’s the problem,” Butts says. “It’s not a utility rate problem, it’s not solely an infrastructure problem. They have a spending problem.”

Georgetown’s Mayor Carol Jayroe said back in August that the city’s utility rates had not been raised since 2010.

But when looking back at past budgets, the city did increase utility rates in 2017 and 2019.

“That’s the bigger problem, every year increasing the budget,” Butts says. “At the end of the day, what services have been enlightened? What are the citizens of the city of Georgetown receiving from being increased?”

“There’s nothing to show for it,” Butts says.

Butts and Jayroe served together on the city council for four years prior to Jayroe taking office in 2022. He claims in the time they worked together, Jayroe never discussed or brought up any concerns about the budget or utility rates.

“I think over a four-year period, she would have made it known to somebody that she had a concern that would be critical to the increase that she’s imposed upon people this last fiscal year,” Butts says.

But now that the budget has already been approved, both Butts and Neil say the people of Georgetown deserve answers.

“It tells a story to the people. If they want change, they have to vote for that change,” Neil says.

“This is a people problem; this is a working-class people problem,” Butts says. “People who are trying to make a livable wage in the city of Georgetown, those people are the ones that are having the problem.”

The utility increases do not stop here. The city forecasts a 4% water and sewer utility rate increase through 2028, 7% electricity in 2025 and 4% electricity in 2026 until 2028.

Jayroe’s team has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GEORGETOWN — If Conway can claim Halloween, Georgetown wants Christmas.

The state’s third-oldest city is undergoing a festive transformation to boost tourism beyond the historical landmarks and natural resources that typically draw visitors to the Hammock Coast.

“It gives Georgetown such a great opportunity,” said Al Joseph, the city’s director of Main Street. “Conway is Halloween town; that’s great. I want Georgetown to be Christmas town, I really do. I think we have the opportunity to make it a Hallmark-type event.”

The idea draws on some inspiration from Georgetown’s municipal neighbor to the north. Conway, the Horry County seat, began rebranding itself as the city of Halloween last year, bringing additional business to its downtown.

A city councilman for six years, Joseph resigned from his elected seat 15 months ago to take on his new role, which focuses on revitalizing Georgetown’s downtown. In addition to tackling other projects since he started in August 2022, the Georgetown native has also been working alongside the city and the Georgetown Business Association to make Front Street and much of the surrounding area a Christmas destination.

“And I think we are already on the way to it,” he said. “In the next two or three years, I think we can really see a tremendous amount of improvement.”

Step 1 is decorating. Joseph said last year there was limited money in the budget to deck the halls, so the city only strung lights on 11 trees at the Broad Street intersection. However, the reaction to those few strands surprised him.

“I thought, ‘OK, it looks great,’” Joseph said. “But their response was unbelievable. I did not expect a response for a display that small. The merchants loved it, the residents loved it and we also received comment cards from visitors.”

This year, Joseph received more money in the budget and was able to put lights on 45 trees and 142 light posts, but he aspires to make the display even larger in the future.

“Next year we will go from Queen (Street) to King,” Joseph said. “So then, we will have all of the blocks of the historic district covered. We missed it by one block this year. We did not have quite enough money. My plan for the year after that, I’d like to see the Harborwalk lit up with arches like you are walking through a tunnel. And then after that, I would like to see a canopy of lights above Front Street.”

Joseph said the Front Street merchants love the look. Some business owners are even lighting up trees outside their respective stores at night. He said all the city lights will be plugged in Nov. 17 and remain lit until Jan. 1.

“It puts everyone in a good mood,” said Alan Sherlock, gallery director at Art Harbor Gallery on Front Street. “Christmas seems to go longer and longer every year, but it’s good. It brightens the place up. It adds a focal point to Front Street, and the more people who walk around and shop, there is a higher chance they will buy things.”

Joseph said Georgetown’s top driver of tourism is history. The No. 2 draw is the surrounding natural resources.

“We are not Myrtle Beach and never will be, don’t want to be,” Joseph said. “We’re not Charleston. We never will be because we don’t have that size. But we have the best of everything that they have to offer. A smaller, more intimate setting.

“Can you imagine what this town would look like, say three years from now, if we can do what we want to do? Eighty-seven trees lit, with a canopy of lights on Front Street and the Harborwalk coming through a tunnel. It would be spectacular.”

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Being South Carolina's third oldest city, Georgetown has several iconic sites in its more than 290 years of history. For the past half a dozen years, it's been lacking a formal home for those who run the city.

Thursday, that changed with the official unveiling and handing over the keys to a new city hall site along Hazard Street just a block from the Liberty Steel Mill.

It will be a new chapter for the city, but it will be written on top of a storied past for the location. The building that will now house city offices for decades stood as the administrative building for the Georgetown Mill now called Liberty USA.

What has been Steelworkers Square will now be City Hall nestled next to the Mike Johnson ballpark, the United Steelworkers Union Hall, and the Georgetown County operations center as well as Howard Auditorium.

Mayor and Council alongside the city administrator and LIBERTY Steel officials unveil the future site for the city hall. (Jendaya Fleming/WPDE)

"What a pleasure it is to stand before you here today and know that we the City of Georgetown have the privilege of owning one of the most beautiful pieces of property in our beloved city," said city Mayor Carol Jayroe.

The property has been home to mill workers and mill officials for decades. It was not up for sale, but mill officials say the city persuaded them to convey it since it was sparsely used since the pandemic.

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"We will miss it, but Liberty is proud to have a hand in bringing in the next chapter of Georgetown's storied history," said LIBERTY Steel plant manager Tom Houlihan.

It's a deal you would not have seen struck between the city and the mill a little over a year ago. In early 2021, the city aimed to see the mill close for good with the former zoning administrator declaring it had violated city law by remaining shuttered for too long during the COVID-19 pandemic. That decision was later overturned by an appeals board and went in favor of the mill's reopening and remaining in operation.

Union leaders for mill workers call the transaction between the city and LIBERTY a win-win.

"We have formed a great working relationship and we see now that the city wants to come in and be a part of that relationship," local union president James Sanderson said.

The city purchased the land as well as a neighboring parking lot for a little more than $1.5 million. Mayor Jayroe says the city has access to $3.5 million in reserve funds from insurance payments when the city had to destroy the old city hall due to structural concerns from sinkholes.

The city has an active request for builders to offer quotes for renovating the building. It's expected to house a majority of city business offices.

"We will, the city of Georgetown promise to be good stewards of this property that has meant so much to our city and steelworkers for decades. That is our pledge," Jayroe said.

The mayor hopes to see another ribbon-cutting ceremony take place roughly a year from now to welcome a fully operation City Hall for the residents of Georgetown.