OPINION: Developers should pay a larger part of infrastructure improvements in Lexington County
- Guest Author
- May 14
- 2 min read
Gilbert, SC 05/14/2025 - My name is Thomas Scott and I have been a resident of Lexington county since 1979.
Now that I have become "old" and retired, I have deep concerns with how you guys manage and plan regarding increased residents and the money needed to support this.
You have meetings where a housing developer is asking for a variance or exception to a spacing requirement between houses for future development. The end result is he wants to put 400 houses in a development instead of 300 (under the current rules) - etc.
As you approve all of the items that are bringing additional citizens to the county, it is like you don't consider what this does to the existing citizens' property taxes.
I realize eventually your light bulb comes on and you realize that 5,000 additional people will require more schools, more police, expanded roads, new roads, water and sewer lines, and other additional expenses, and your one and only solution is to tax everyone in the county to help pay for this.
This raises property taxes on residences, vehicles, boats and anything else you get money from via property taxes.
It is unfair that you don't address the reason you want more money via property taxes.
The reason is new housing construction.
I would like you guys to solve this issue by addressing "what caused the problem" and let the cause of the problem pay for the solution.
One way to do this is: Any newly constructed residence pays a fee before final inspection approval. This tax is $5,000 per new house. In the event multi-unit things are built, like apartments, this fee is $1,000 per residential space.
This money goes into a fund to solve the issues that the additional new residents cause. For example, a school expansion, hiring more teachers, hiring more police, needing new water or sewer lines, building a library, and so forth.
Greenville did something like this years ago and it totally revitalized their area.
The bottom line is, you need to quit raising property taxes and this can be accomplished by what I have suggested.
I would absolutely love to present this in front of all of you because I am aware that 100% of the citizens that are present would want this - because it is fair to let the cause of the problem, pay for the problem and solve the problem.
Thank you for your time.
Thomas Scott of Gilbert, SC
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Before approving 1 acre of development or muni anmexations for development those govt bodies must calculate the specific per-household cost to provide roads, water, sewer, police, fire, school and trash service capacities to the new area?
And when exactl does the new tax base and/or contnributed impact fees break even?”
Mr Scott’s ideas are refreshing. I encourage our commissioners to consider these concetps
I think Tommy Scott has hit the nail on the head. The developers need to this taxes not the taxpayers, bottom line. Make this work. To easy to fix!
Mr. Scott is definitely onto something. I am over age 65 and just qualified for my homestead exemption where the first $50,000 on my home value is exempt from property taxes. Yesterday, I received a new assessment for my property where they increased the value of my home by more than $100,000! Where does it end? In other words - the age 65 exemption is gone and my taxes will increase again. His article was dead-on - let the cause of the need for property tax increases pay for it. I wish the Lexington County council would put this to a vote - I cannot think of anyone that would vote no to such a proposal.