Edgefield County reviews draft budget and discusses 16.25-mill EMS proposal

Edgefield County Council convened a budget workshop on March 11, 2025, to review the administrator’s draft fiscal-year budget that proposes a 3.5% cost-of-living increase for employees and a 16.25-mill package to shore up Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations and pay for construction debt service.

Administrator David Goodell walked the council through the memo and highlighted personnel and benefit changes aimed at retention: “We have included a minimum 3.5% cost of living increase in this year's budget,” he said, describing a package that also includes a 0.5% average merit pool (range 0–1% based on evaluations), a 2.5% annual step for employees below pay-band midpoint (to reach midpoint in eight years), continuation of individual health insurance premium coverage, and a 401(k) employer match that would not exceed $1,200 per participating employee.

The nut of the discussion centered on EMS funding. The draft would raise the EMS special revenue fund by 12.5 mills for operations and add 3.75 mills to debt service to finance a new EMS headquarters and renovation of a substation. That brings the total proposed millage increase tied to EMS to 16.25 mills. The administrator said the EMS fund has been negative in recent years and estimated the special revenue fund was “currently negative by $78,000.” The proposal funds a phased expansion that would add eight full-time EMS employees to support a fourth 24-hour ambulance and a new headquarters; the county would phase…