Mayoral debate: Roddey, Gettys bring focus on Rock Hill finances, dispute over taxes

Rock Hill mayoral candidates William “Bump” Roddey and John Gettys continued to battle over an array of issues during a Tuesday night debate at Winthrop University.

Less than a week before Rock Hill voters return to the polls to elect their first new mayor in 20 years, Roddey and Gettys attempted to gain the upper hand in front of nearly 200 possible voters in the Richardson Ballroom.

The two will square off in a runoff election Oct. 31.

Roddey earned 4,015 votes (45.22 percent) in the Oct. 17 general election. Gettys earned 3,967 votes (44.68 percent).

Just over 18 percent of Rock Hill’s 48,321 registered voters cast ballots on Oct. 17. Local political scientists believe the upcoming runoff will have weaker turnout because it will be on Halloween.

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s debate:

Roddey’s homes

An audience question raised a new issue, and brought on intense discussion, about Roddey’s homes and taxes.

Moderator Karen Kedrowski introduced a question from the audience about Roddey owning two homes in York County. The question claimed that both homes have been declared as residences, and Roddey has paid the 4 percent tax rate as a primary residence on both homes, rather than a 4 percent tax on one home and a 6 percent tax on the second home.

Roddey responded that his wife, Jarilyn, owns a home in her name, and he owns another home, primarily in his name. He said he was legally taking advantage of the 4 percent rate under his home, but was unaware of any property tax issues with the second home.

He said he now lives at his wife’s address at 469 Hemlock Ave., after moving out of his home on Fox Crossing Court just outside of the city limits.

Gettys claimed that Roddey has paid the 4 percent tax rate at both homes for more than five years. He said Roddey has paid less in taxes to the school districts as a result.

“State law says you get one residence,” Gettys said. “Roddey family’s had two residences for over five years, that means they’ve paid less taxes than you and I have paid on property who own more than one home.”

York County spokesperson Trish Startup told The Herald the county manager will look into the matter on Thursday.

Rock Hill finances

Roddey, a York County Council member, has continually criticized the city for what he sees as poor money management. He argued that Rock Hill does not have enough cash reserves on hand to pay its bills.

He has often pointed to a 2016 financial report that shows the city listing $264,000 of uncommitted reserve funds. He alleges that the city has to transfer money from utility tax revenue and move it into the general fund to “keep the ship floating.”

“We are sucking wind until we get back to January when property taxes hit the coffers,” said Roddey at Tuesday’s debate. “If you can’t get through month to month without having to run into the red and dip into the reserves ... we don’t have enough working capital to get us through.”

Assistant city manager Steven Gibson told The Herald earlier this summer that Roddey is focusing only on one of several reserve funds from the report.

Gibson said there are several reserve funds that must be considered to get the full amount. He said Rock Hill’s cash on hand amounts to more than $13.6 million – in reserved, unreserved, committed and uncommitted funds.

Gettys, the Rock Hill Sports Commission chairman, defended the city and called Roddey a cynic and a pessimist. He argued that the city has proved it can pay its bills on time and cited several bond rating increases over the past three decades.

“My opponent has presented no expert to back up his baseless claim,” Gettys said. “The biggest issue we have facing us is the idea that we should divide each other.”

Private independent rating services such as Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s Investors provide evalutions of financial strength or the ability to pay a bond’s princiapl and interest in a timely fashion.

The highest rating given by either agency is AAA.

Anne Harty, Rock Hill’s chief financial officer, said the city’s general obligation bond rating has improved since 1992 from A to AA (from Standard & Poor’s) and A to Aa3 (from Moody’s).

Piedmont Municipal Power Agency

Roddey and Gettys also talked about whether Rock Hill should remain a part of the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA). The PMPA is the electricity provider for Rock Hill and nine other Upstate cities.

Roddey said he wants to study the deal and determine whether it provides the best benefit for Rock Hill. Gettys said he favors staying in the PMPA because the city can pass along costs of reforming infrastructure on the surrounding communities.

Road repairs

On the topic of road repairs, Roddey said he has been dedicating “C” funds to Rock Hill and his county district for years. He said he wants to pave connecting roads and make neighborhoods safer.

The state reserves just under 3 cents per gallon of the state gas tax for “C” fund projects, which are distributed to each of South Carolina’s 46 counties to fund improvements of state roads, county roads, city streets and other local transportation projects.

Gettys said he wants to attract more state money from the approved gas tax increase. He said Rock Hill deserves a larger share of state money because of the city’s commitment to the county roads initiative Pennies for Progress.

Pennies for Progress, a 20-year-old infrastructure improvement plan for York County roads and intersections, has helped raise nearly $700 million to build, extend or rehabilitate streets and highways. The plan raises money by levying an additional 1-cent county tax on certain goods and services.

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Mayoral debate: Roddey, Gettys bring focus on Rock Hill finances, dispute over taxes."