WALHALLA — For at least one Oconee County Council member, the issue of refunding tax dollars is not about whether Duke Energy or other major taxpayers would get two-thirds of any refund, as much as it is about the county not having excess funds.

District 1 Councilman Paul Corbeil said on the eve of Tuesday’s council meeting that he believes current efforts to determine the amount of unencumbered tax money the county has will reveal there is less money on hand than it would take to meet current capital project needs.

Specifically, he cites needed jail expansion and renovation as well as the need to meet handicap compliance standards at the courthouse. The cost of both projects has been estimated in the millions of dollars.

“We all agree that, as of June 30, the county had $43 million in the bank. Until we break it down and until we match it up against our capital project needs, we don’t know that we have excess funds,” the newest member of council said.

“My personal position is that we don’t have excess funds.”

Much of the current pressure on the county to refund taxes stems from claims by County Treasurer Greg Nowell that residents have been overtaxed. Nowell’s contention springs from a Duke Energy back tax payment in 2005 that was chalked up as added county revenue. Nowell claims the sum inflated the budget and that the county has carried forward that inflated budget every year since.

Combined with underspending of budgeted funds, he argues that the county has excess reserves.

When the issue of a refund first came up at council, Finance Director Kendra Brown pointed out that tax funds would, by law, have to be returned in proportion to the way they were paid. That would mean roughly one-third of the refund would go to Duke Energy and another third to other business interests.

Corbeil said his opposition to a refund is not based on the fact that much of the money would go to Duke.

“The people want a refund,” he said. “The problem is that, by law, we are not going to help the people who really need help right now.”

He said the owner of a $100,000 home with no homestead exemption pays roughly $425 in taxes. If the county were to refund $6 million — an amount proposed by Councilman Wayne McCall — each homeowner would get about 20 percent or $85.

In each of the last three years, Duke has paid Oconee County in excess of $25 million in county and school taxes. Before applying industrial exemptions to the county’s total taxable value, Duke’s taxable assessment has accounted for 25.4, 27.6 and 25 percent respectively. With adjustments, each figure moves closer to 30 percent. In the 2008 tax year, Duke accounted for 32 percent of all taxes paid in Oconee County.

In 1998 Spartanburg County spent $300,000 to issue 180,000 checks, refunding $4.2 million. The bulk of the money went to Duke, Michelin and BMW. Ten years later, 18,000 checks with an average value of $5.61 remained uncashed.