TYBEE ISLAND officials are boxed into a corner when it comes to generating revenue to pay for public services.
Historically, their two largest money streams have been property taxes and parking fees and fines — with taxes leading the way until recently.
But as property values have dipped on the island (and elsewhere), the amount the tax collector rakes in has taken a hit. City officials no longer can count on annual growth of their tax digest to cover future expenses.
Raising property taxes is always an option. But that’s the kiss of death politically. That leaves parking as Tybee’s largest remaining cash cow.
And Thursday night, that bovine got milked.
Tybee’s City Council voted unanimously to increase parking rates at the island’s two beachfront lots by 33 percent, raising the cost from $1.50 to $2 per hour. The council also voted to hike the cost of an annual parking decal by 50 percent. Those stickers will cost $150, up from the previous $100 (those 62 years old an older got a break, however, and will pay $125).
The changes should push up total parking revenue to close to $3 million. This sum will cover almost a third of Tybee’s annual budget of roughly $10 million — a percentage that seems uncomfortably high, as counting on people to feed meters and pay tickets isn’t the most predictable funding source.
Prior to Thursday, Tybee already had the most expensive meters — and parking tickets — in Chatham County. It also has the priciest parking among the closest beach towns (rates for Hilton Head Island’s meters range from 50 cents to $1 an hour; motorists who drive to Jekyll Island pay a $5 daily toll).
Thursday’s actions will make visiting Tybee’s 2.5 miles of public beachfront more expensive. Forcing the city to tighten its belt on other operating expenses is an option to steeper parking fees. But where do you cut?
Certainly not the $514,500 that Tybee expects to spend on beach maintenance for the next 12 months. Or the $358,642 spent on lifeguards. And not the $64,091 for clean restrooms or the $13,339 for water at the foot washing and shower stands at beach access points.
A day at Tybee is still a relative bargain compared to other summer activities. Coughing up a few more bucks for the same amount of parking time shouldn’t place an undue hardship on most visitors.
But let’s hope this doesn’t become an annual practice. If officials keep jacking up parking fees to cover budget shortfalls, Tybee could reach a point of diminishing returns. Visitors might be turned off and drive elsewhere for their beach time.
And if visitors drop, revenue drops. And it’s likely that Tybee will have a tougher time getting beach renourishment funds.
Tybee is really two communities — the one made up of 3,000 or so full-time residents, and another made up of the tens of thousands of people who populate the island during the summer. That creates special challenges. And risks.
A blend of property taxes and parking fees, which hits residents and visitors, is a fair way to pay for needed services at the beach. But becoming overly reliant on parking revenue must not be a long-term strategy. Even cash cows have breaking points.