BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. — The Beaufort County Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee voted Thursday to forward an ordinance making appropriations for fiscal year 2026 to county council for first reading, keeping the county millage rate effectively neutral while reallocating several funding streams.

Finance staff told the committee the proposed ordinance would keep overall millage “mill neutral” while shifting levies to reflect operational changes, including moving the solid waste department back into the general fund and moving the county garage to an internal service fund. The committee approved sending the ordinance to council without objection.

The ordinance covers appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026, and would levy taxes and adopt service and user fees to support county operations, capital projects and enterprise funds. Staff presented an updated estimate of the value of a mill of $2,980,406 for FY2026 and described a proposed transfer of $15 million from prior-year fund balance to the CIP fund for capital projects.

Finance staff said the county is proposing a change to the cost-of-living approach for employees: replacing the previously discussed 3% increase with a flat-rate adjustment of $18.85 for full‑time employees and $9.43 for part‑time employees, as presented in the budget packet. The packet also includes new personnel requests, equipment and vehicle requests and a 92-project capital improvement program budget that staff said totals a little over $36 million when current-year rollovers are included.

Committee members asked for additional detail on several line items. One member flagged apparent zero entries in the spreadsheet for magistrate civil fees and family court salaries; staff said those were data-entry errors on the worksheet but that the correct amounts are included in the full budget book. Members also asked for more detail and presentations from significant outside agencies requesting county funds, including mental-health providers and regional housing partners; staff agreed to schedule or confirm presentations before the public hearing.

Staff confirmed items to be included in the FY2026 budget book: estimated general fund revenues, enterprise fund projections for the county garage (to be moved out of the general fund), airport and stormwater, and a summary of vehicle and equipment requests. Fleet and capital project staff were present to answer technical questions about specific equipment and CIP projects.

Committee members also discussed facility maintenance projects included in the CIP — roof replacements, HVAC upgrades and an LED retrofit program — and asked staff to continue checking for any applicable utility or vendor rebates that could offset project costs. Staff noted Dominion Energy rebates may be available for some projects but that eligibility depends on meeting technical criteria.

With questions to be compiled and returned to the committee by Friday, staff said the packet will be taken to county council on Monday for first reading so the county can remain on its budget calendar and complete second and third readings in time to adopt the budget before the fiscal year begins.

Less-critical items remaining in the packet include department-level operating adjustments and the separation of certain special-revenue telephone contracts from general fund budgets; staff said they would follow up with detail requested by committee members.