County treasurer outlines budget request, stresses staff merit pay and investment earnings

Maria Wallace, Beaufort County treasurer, presented the treasurer's office budget request for fiscal 2025–26 and defended a request that would raise the office’s general fund by roughly 11 percent while seeking merit and cost-of-living increases for staff. Wallace said the office managed about $1.14 billion in funds and projected investment returns of roughly $34 million for fiscal 2025. "Every dollar that we can earn in investment is a dollar that's not coming out of our taxpayers' pocket," Wallace said.

Wallace said the treasurer's office handles billing for multiple jurisdictions in the county and that timing of bank service fees can make year-to-date spending appear high: bank service fees are calculated and charged annually, she said, so those expenses may show up later in the fiscal year. She also described the office's cash-management approach — moving balances between the state Local Government Investment Pool, strategic investments and the county's bank to maximize earnings and offset fees.

Wallace requested additional operating funds largely to cover merit increases for employees and expanded professional services tied to growing customer service tools such as Zendesk and a new texting service. She called investments in staff "not optional": "You cannot have good government without good employees," she said.

Council members pressed her for specifics about vacancies, fund balances and line‑item detail. Wallace said the office had six open positions at the time of the meeting and that annual investment earnings materially offset county tax pressures. She also described plans to expand customer-facing services, including a summer rollout of texting for taxpayers and ongoing performance-evaluation work.

Questions from committee members focused on the timing of expenditures (bank fees and payroll), the split between the general and execution (delinquent) funds, and the composition of professional services. Wallace said the execution fund covers work to collect delinquent taxes and that its staff time and certain training expenses are charged there. She agreed to provide additional budget detail for some line items on request.

The treasurer asked that salary-related questions be discussed first in the budget process. Committee members agreed to schedule additional budget work sessions so staff and elected officials could reconcile line items and personnel changes before first reading of the county budget.