BAMBERG – Bamberg County Council gave first reading in title only to the county’s spending plan for 2022-23 following a special called meeting on Monday.
Council Chairman Spencer Donaldson and members Sharon Hammond, Larry Haynes, Dr. Jonathan Goodman II and Evert Comer Jr. approved the budget. Councilmen Clint Carter and Phil Myers were absent from the meeting.
The proposed budget did not yet include any fund totals, but a 3.5-mill property tax decrease is expected, along with 3% cost-of-living pay increase for employees.
Several other amenities are being proposed and include, but are not limited to, new computers in the offices of the clerk of court, assessor, clerk to council and litter control, and a $5,000 increase in funding to all nine county fire stations.
County Controller Gina Smith said $100,000 homeowners with two vehicles with an average value of $15,000 could look to see a $20 decrease in their property tax bills, while $50,000 homeowners with two vehicles with the average value of $15,000 could look to see a $14 decrease.
She said the tax decrease may actually be more than 3.5 mills, “but I’m going to go on record as to say you can expect a 3-1/2-mills decrease, and that’s coming from debt service, and it’s coming from the refinancing of those (installment purchase revenue) bonds that we did last November and December.”
Smith said while the final budget will likely be “larger in terms of dollars,” particularly with the cost-of-living increase and completion of other programs in the budget, that’s not the end of the story.
“What we’re proposing is to use existing funds on hand and use current revenues and use funds that we have received in prior years. Remember at the end of the year at the audit presentation, we talked about the fact that the fund balance had increased, which was a very positive thing. So what we’re asking now is to use some of that fund balance to do some of these programs,” she said.
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Smith said while the overall rate of revenue from property taxes will go down, “we all hope and expect that as the county grows and more industry comes, that the assessed values will go up based on new industry and new construction.”
“Another really good thing that’s happened again is that the state has budgeted for that Rural Infrastructure Fund money. This current fiscal year, we received $322,000. This year we’re going to receive that same amount, maybe a little bit more. So that’s a good thing,” she said.
In addition to the cost-of-living increase, the budget includes a proposed Retention and Recognition Plan, which would bring employees to the midpoint of their pay grade scale after seven years of employment.
“We’re competing for good employees just like everybody else. So we have to do something to not only make ourselves be attractive but to keep ourselves attractive and competitive,” Smith said.
The county is also proposing that a part-time dispatcher position be reclassified to full time to the tune of $43,345. County Administrator Joey Preston later said that existing revenues were sufficient to cover the cost.
An updated camera system at the county detention center and the computer software that would be needed if the county decides to implement a property tax installment payment plan are all among the capital requests included in the budget.
There is also a proposal to add Juneteenth as an official paid holiday. The day commemorates the end of slavery by marking the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom.
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The budget also includes increasing funding for Denmark Technical College from $34,085 in FY 2022 to $55,850 for FY 2023. Preston later said the money had to be spend on building improvements or capital projects like, for example, the college’s placement of new signage.
It also includes funding for 800 megahertz radios, a project which would be broken up into two phases. Phase One would include providing the radios for the dispatch, sheriff and code enforcement departments, with Phase Two to include the fire service department.
“Some grants have already been identified and even applied for, I believe. At the next meeting we’ll … let you know what the costs are looking like for FY 23. … The current system is unreliable. It does not provide sufficient coverage through the county. I’m sure you’ve heard the sheriff and all the public safety officers talk about that,” Smith said.
“The new system benefits would, number one, of course be improved officer safety, consistent radio contact throughout the county, multicounty communication and direct communication with Medshore (ambulance service),” she said.
Preston later said the county is developing a plan for the use of its share of federal American Rescue funding.
On Monday, Smith said, “We’re proposing to use some of it for these programs that we’re talking about here tonight. … You have to spend it or have it obligated by Dec. 31, 2024.”
Second reading of the budget and a public hearing are scheduled for the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, June 6, at the Bamberg County Courthouse Annex.
Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow “Good News with Gleaton” on Twitter at @DionneTandD
County Controller Gina Smith said $100,000 homeowners with two vehicles with an average value of $15,000 could look to see a $20 decrease in their property tax bills, while $50,000 homeowners with two vehicles with the average value of $15,000 could look to see a $14 decrease.
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