Local city information for James Island, SC

James Island is a town in Charleston County,
South Carolina, United States. It is located in the central and southern
parts of James Island. As defined by the U.S.
Census Bureau, the town's population is included within the
Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and the larger
Charleston–
North Charleston–
Summerville
Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Image:TOJI1.jpg|Recently remodeled Town Hall

Long settled as a semi-rural area, this island has been affected by increasing urbanization and the expansion of the city of Charleston. Island residents created the corporation of the Town of James Island
on January 8, 1993 and sought recognition by the South Carolina state legislature. A lawsuit was filed by Charleston as the city sought the right to freely annex additional areas for expansion. A second attempt at recognition in 2002 also failed.

South Carolina changed the state laws affecting incorporation, effective on July 1, 2005. A third attempt to become a town was successful in June 2006, when about 3,000 voted to incorporate. The day after the vote, Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. filed a lawsuit against the town for the third time saying that it was
unconstitutional. The town administration continued its operations while awaiting the court ruling. Mary Clark was elected mayor of the town for the third time in August, 2008.

On November 7, 2008 the City of Charleston lost it's lawsuit against the town of James Island. Charleston is filing an appeal to the state supreme court. With the legal battles out of the way the town could elect to pay off the debts of the public service district and take over the tax base and services of the PSD in the not too distant
future. Meanwhile, the town continues to serve its citizens resolving issues and problems while keeping government intrusion to a minimum. For instance, there no plans to enact laws regarding smoking, instead that is left up to the individual business owner.

The town uses the Charleston County Sheriff for police and the James Island Public Service District (JIPSD) for fire protection, refuse collection, and sewer service. Each resident of the town pays taxes to the county, and the JIPSD just as
they did before the town was formed, but rather than add more taxes as most cities do just to have their own police department and other services, James Island uses the services that they have always paid for.

James Island does not levy taxes, instead it receives income from business licenses, building permit fees, and sales tax revenue refunds. A portion of sales tax revenues are returned to the cities for property tax relief and since town residents pay sales tax, they get their fair share in local sales tax revenue refunds. As of December 2008 most citizens have received their refund checks.

Sales tax revenue refunds are not available to those who live in unincorporated areas and public service districts, however since most of the PSD is within the town limits, they qualify for the refunds.

While the town has been incorporated, the town limits do not incorporate the entire island of James Island. There are approximately 20,000 residents in the town and approximately 18,000 in Charleston's city limits.

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