True or False?
Act 388, passed in 2006, placed a “hard cap” on how much city and town councils can raise millage rates each year.
Answer: True
When the SC General Assembly passed Act 388 in 2006, the law limited how much a council
can increase its millage rate each year. Millage rate increases cannot exceed the prior year’s inflation rate plus the percentage increase in the city’s population according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Cities that have a decrease in population count it as zero in calculating its millage rate.
Under certain circumstances, there are limited exceptions to the millage cap councils may consider.
The SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office released the FY 2022-2023 Municipal Millage Caps calculation in May. This calculation is the growth in the consumer price index plus the growth in the population. The CPI for the FY 2023 Municipal Millage Cap calculation is 4.7%. Municipal officials can find the millage cap rate increase limitations for their municipality on the Municipal Association’s website.
The Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government offers in-person and online courses. Elected officials who complete all of the required coursework graduate from the institute and are eligible to participate in the Advanced Institute. The next MEO sessions will take place the day after Hometown Legislative Day on February 8 at the Columbia Marriott.