West Union approves small tax increase

The cost of everything seems to be going up, and it’s affecting the small Oconee County town of West Union. Last night the town council, in a 4 to 0 vote, agreed to raise property tax rate by 1.5 mills. The vote came on a motion by Councilman Doug Moore. Mayor Linda Oliver had told the council that the South Carolina Department of Revenue had informed the town that it would have been allowed to raise taxes by about 2.75 mills, but the council opted for a smaller increase. Before the vote, Oliver told the council that a one mill increase would add about $2 dollars to the tax bill of a home assessed at $50 thousand and $4 dollars to the bill for one assessed at $100 thousand.