Mayor's Message - August 2024

I hope your summer is going well. Our busy summer season seems to fly by quicker each year – I’m sure our students would agree with that!

Fiscal responsibility is one of the primary roles of City Council. A few quick highlights of our City’s current financial position:

• Cash reserves are at their highest amounts ever – approximately $19.1 million is restricted for
beach preservation or tourism approved uses and approximately $25.4 million is for capital projects
or disaster recovery.
• Debt is at a very reasonable level with low interest rates (1.6% to 4.14%) and a significant
portion maturing in the next few years,
• Credit rating is at the highest level which allows us to borrow money with very favorable
terms.
• Property tax millage rate is one of the lowest in our region. For example, according to the
Charleston County tax calculator, a primary residence with an assessed value of $2,000,000 would
pay $5,842 in property taxes on IOP, of which only about $1,400 comes to IOP and the rest stays with the County and School Board bonds. The same property would pay

$8,974 at Sullivan’s Island, $7,106 at Folly Beach and $7,062 in Mount Pleasant
• In the past two years, the city was able to secure over $8 million in grants and state budget
allocations for capital projects on our island. Some of these funds have been used on the projects
highlighted below.

These are all very positive measures of success for our City. However, we are forecasting
significant expenses for future drainage and beach renourishment projects on our island over the
next 30 years which may require additional revenue sources to pay for these needs that will exceed
our current projected revenue. More work is needed to analyze our
future financial needs and all available revenue or grant sources.

June is the fiscal year end for us. While we haven’t completely closed the books for the year yet, preliminary reports show we will have another
excellent year for financial results. The city’s revenue is forecasted to exceed expenses by
approximately $2.6 million and finish the year with around
$44.5 million in cash reserves. The preliminary unaudited total revenue was $28.7 million and total
expenses were
$26.1 million. These results include a significant number of initiatives or capital projects
started or completed during the past 24 months as well. Some of the highlights:

• The drainage outfall projects at 30th, 36th and 41st Avenues were completed to improve stormwater and tidal drainage in these areas.
• The new public dock at the marina was started which will include a 16’ wide pier with covered
area with benches and swings, a new floating dock with ADA
compliant gangway, kayak and stand-up paddleboard launch.
• At the Rec Center, the city added two dedicated pickleball courts, renovated the outdoor basketball courts, a new outdoor fitness court as well as
improvements to the dog park.
• The City spent significant funds for emergency beach restoration around Breach Inlet and Beachwood East and for engineering and permitting for the upcoming shoal management project in the north end and USACE beneficial use project at Breach Inlet.
• Implemented Sunnie, our AI resident engagement platform, that allows residents and visitors to
ask questions, make service requests and get real-time alerts for important IOP news.
• Significant investments for city employees including salary adjustments to maintain market
competitiveness and renovation of employee fitness centers at Public Safety Building and Fire Station 2.
• Added additional staff to better serve our community and improve our residents’ quality of life –
Code

Enforcement Officers (2), paramedics (3 and searching for 3 more), and a Short Term Rental
Coordinator.

There are some great upcoming community events detailed on the city’s online calendar at iop.net
and you can receive updates by signing up for Sunnie – the City’s AI platform for sending updated messages direct to your mobile
device. To get started text “hello” to (877)–607–6IOP (467) or visit iop.net.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve! See you around the island.
Phillip Pounds, Mayor IOP
843-252-5359
ppounds@iop.net