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Finance committee outlines hangar-fee plan, stormwater study update and budget path for equine park request
Summary
The finance committee reported plans to set new hangar rates by square footage, approved continuing a county stormwater study, and recommended that the South Carolina Equine Park request proceed through the regular budget process rather than be funded from reserves.
Kershaw County’s finance committee reported to council Jan. 14 on several items that will shape county fees and capital priorities in the coming budget cycle: a proposed square-foot-based rate structure for airport T-hangars, an update on a countywide stormwater study, and a recommendation that a request from the South Carolina Equine Park be considered through the 2025–26 budget process.
Committee chair Councilman Tucker said staff surveyed existing hangars and concluded rates should be set by square footage and amenities (restroom, sink) so tenants pay equitably. He told council the fee schedule will be published and brought back as an ordinance requiring statutory readings and public hearings.
On stormwater, staff reported the county-funded study (roughly a $72,000 allocation the finance committee recommended previously) is underway and will examine legacy retention ponds, MS4 areas and county-wide stormwater needs. Administrator Danny Templer said the study will be comprehensive and that staff will stand up an advisory committee with representatives from homeowners, business owners and the school district; a report back to council is expected as the study progresses.
On the South Carolina Equine Park funding request, the finance committee said it had done preliminary due diligence and recommended that the park come through the formal budget process for 2025–26 rather than be funded immediately from reserves. Committee members cited competing capital needs (stormwater, park projects) and noted that ATAX and other budget processes can provide possible funding routes.
Why it matters: the hangar fee changes affect tenants at the county airport and may be implemented by ordinance; the stormwater study will guide future capital and maintenance priorities for ditches, retention ponds and drainage; and the finance committee’s recommendation channels the equine park request into the established, transparent budget cycle.
Next steps: staff will draft the hangar-fee ordinance and return it for first reading; staff will continue the stormwater study and assemble an advisory committee; and the equine park proponents were asked to submit their request through the 2025–26 budget process and through ATAX where appropriate.
