A tax hike has been levied in Cayce and goes into effect July 1 adding five mills to property taxes and increases utility bills by an additional 7% to replace and upgrade the three quarter of a century old water and sewer infrastructure.
The increase could be around six dollars a month for a home valued at $200,000.
The council repeatedly delayed expenditures on capital improvements and now the reality of those decisions has reached a critical point. “Costs have gotten away from us,” said Cayce Mayor Pro Tem Phil Carter. “We have a little bit of catching up to do.”
The city will have to dip into its reserve funds to help maintain city vehicles and equipment. Mayor Elise Partin said she couldn’t support the nearly half million dollars withdrawal from the reserve funds to help balance the budget and voted against it.
Cayce council recently OK’d an expenditure upwards of $400,000 on a giant wood troll art sculpture. Partin called it a ‘smart, forward looking investment’.
Cayce is home to nearly 14,000 residents according to the 2020 census and the town was incorporated in 1914.
