With most cities’ budgets being completed recently, some local residents have seen their property taxes go up, while others have seen them remain the same.

Most cities and towns in Oconee and Pickens counties have millage ranging from roughly 50 to 80 mills, and feature similar rates for services, such as garbage collection, water and sewer.

Seneca boasts a low property tax of 50 mills. On a $100,000 home, that would equate to a $200 property tax. Millage is calculated by multiplying a home’s market value by its assessment ratio and then taking that number and multiplying it by the given municipality’s millage rate.

Seneca charges customers $12.50 for trash pickup, with several variables in play to calculate water fees. Rates for water initially are predicated upon the size of the water lines going into each resident’s home. A one-inch line would require a base rate of $9.46, with an eight-inch line costing a resident $179.68. After a flat rate is implemented, a standard volume fee of $1.16 per one thousand gallons is charged.

Seneca Mayor Dan Alexander said his city’s residents get a good value for what they pay for.

“Our millage has been around 50 for nearly 10 years,” Alexander said. “And that property tax helps pay for the services this city needs, like police, fire and recreation.”

Seneca’s millage is significantly lower than the city of Westminster’s, although City Administrator David Smith said quick comparisons of cities’ property taxes can be very misleading.

“Obviously, millage rates vary from city to city,” Smith said. “Due to a much larger tax base, one mill in Seneca generates much more tax revenue than does one mill in Westminster.”

A look at the statistics backs up Smith’s statements. Considering population and the average home value differences between Westminster and Seneca, a single mill in Seneca would generate approximately $31,000, while a single mill in Westminster would generate a mere $6,000.

It is also, true, however, that due to Westminster’s smaller tax base, each taxpayer ultimately has to shoulder a heavier burden in both fees and millage, although not as much as the millage number might indicate. A $100,000 home that would be taxed $200 in Seneca would be taxed $362 in Westminster. The volume charge for water is also higher in Westminster, topping out at $1.80 per one thousand gallons, as opposed to Seneca’s $1.16. Smith said Westminster’s fees and millage are still a good bargain.

“I believe that a resident obtains a significant value for what is paid,” Smith said. “One example is water. A gallon jug of water at a local grocery store may be $1.25. A residential water customer will pay the city $1.80 for one thousand gallons — and the city will deliver it to their house.”

Another factor to consider when looking at municipalities’ property taxes is the new statewide law capping millage increases. The law restricts how much a city or town can increase its millage rate. Now, millage can be increased by a percentage that is comprised of adding the prior year's consumer price index (CPI) and the city's population growth percentage. The state's Budget and Control Board advises each city of the respective percentages. Last year, Westminster had a 0.23 percent population increase, and there was a 2.85 percent CPI. Consequently, Westminster was allowed to have a 3.1 percent increase in millage. Ultimately, the city council voted to increase the millage for the next fiscal year by 2.7 mills. Seneca also voted to raise the property tax by 2.3 mills.

Rick Cotton, city administrator for Clemson, said over the past 10 years, Clemson’s millage has seen little fluctuation. Since 1991, Clemson’s millage has teetered between the lower 80’s to upper 70’s. This year’s millage was 79.5, but like Seneca and Westminster, Clemson hiked its property tax, increasing it up to 81 mills for the next fiscal year.

Walhalla’s City Administrator Nancy Goehle said that city’s millage was 84 mills, and unlike many cities and towns, its budgeting process did not yield any tax increases for next year.