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Council questions unbudgeted Christmas bonuses, Santa Land and outside-event payments during FY25 budget review
Summary
Council members pressed finance staff about unplanned expenditures — including a $17,789 staff Christmas event, a $5,672 “Santa Land” event and $8,250 in staff bonuses — and asked staff to clarify outside-event payment timing and the town’s process for outside funding requests before the FY26 budget workshop.
Town of Blythewood council members pressed staff on multiple unbudgeted or over-budget items during a March special call budget workshop, raising questions about who authorized payments for holiday events and how outside-event funding is allocated and recorded.
Finance Director Julie Emery told the council that an “outside agency request” line exceeded its allocation and that bills related to last year’s events — including Juneteenth and the Big Grab — had contributed to the discrepancy. She identified a $1,500 Juneteenth payment and roughly $6,215 in overage tied to the Big Grab, including payments to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
The discussion moved from outside-event accounting to separate holiday-related spending. Council members asked for itemized receipts and guest lists after seeing the budget detail showing $17,789 for the staff Christmas event and $5,672 for a Santa Land event. Councilwoman Fripp asked for the number of attendees and who received invitations; Mayor Sloan Griffin and staff said they would provide receipts and attendance lists.
The council also learned that $8,250 in employee bonuses had been paid through payroll to staff in the current fiscal year using a payroll line originally set up for earlier one-time bonus funds. Council members said they had not been informed the bonuses were issued, and several members said any recurring or discretionary pay increases or bonuses should be discussed and approved by council. Council members requested a clear accounting and asked staff to identify where the payouts were recorded and whether the payments had been properly appropriated.
Council discussed the town’s process for paying outside-event vendors. Staff explained the existing practice of making an upfront payment (traditionally 80%) before events and then reconciling after the event; that scheduling and invoice timing sometimes causes the final 20% to be paid in the next fiscal year and recorded on that subsequent year’s cash basis. Council members asked staff to bring a recommended procedural fix — including stricter reconciliation deadlines or alternative payment timing — to the next budget workshop so the council can decide whether to keep the current practice or require full reconciliation prior to year-end.
Councilmembers also requested the following follow-ups: itemized receipts and guest lists for the Christmas event and Santa Land, a reconciliation of the outside-funding line (GL 10-4123-75), a timeline and explanation for payments that posted after June 30, and clarification of whether future outside-funding payouts will be sent earlier in the new fiscal year. Members asked legal counsel to be included in any revisions to the outside-funding policy and asked staff to circulate the policy and related applications in advance of the next workshop.
The council asked staff to deliver those materials and recommendations in writing before the scheduled FY26 budget workshop so members can review how to treat grants, hospitality/ATAX requests and internally driven town events in the FY26 budget.
