The Finance Committee reviewed the town’s December financial report and approved purchasing and surplus actions for police vehicles at its meeting Thursday.

Finance staff reported that the town has completed roughly 50% of the fiscal year. “We have collected, roughly a 1,000,000 and a half during December, year to date a little over 9,000,000,” Finance staff member Rhonda said. She told committee members that year-to-date expenditures were about $22 million, or roughly 45% of the budgeted total including transfers, and said property tax receipts would begin to arrive in January. Rhonda also noted the reporting cutoff meant some line items — including interest income — were not yet posted to the December report.

The committee approved an authorization to issue a purchase order for $108,501 made out to Cooper Motor Company to purchase 32,023 Dodge Chargers for the police department; a motion to approve carried on a voice vote. The committee also approved surplusing three older police vehicles (a 2010 Ford Focus with 98,066 miles; a 2012 Dodge Charger with 101,971 miles; and a 2013 Dodge Charger with 149,089 miles). Finance staff said there is not yet a mechanism to automatically return proceeds from surplused equipment to departmental budgets; council will discuss that at the budget retreat.

Committee members discussed procedures for approving expenditures that were not in the adopted budget. The town attorney explained that council typically handles those by adopting a budget amendment at fiscal-year end, which requires two readings and a public hearing.

The town administrator previewed the midyear budget retreat set for Jan. 16 at the Lowcountry Conference Center in Nexton. The administrator said the retreat will cover major capital projects, the FY2026 budget calendar, and department requests; staff will provide the full lists to council members, and the council will discuss priorities for FY2026. The town administrator also reported that employee evaluations and merit raises are being finalized and will appear in February financial reports.

Why it matters: The midyear financial snapshot and the vehicle purchases affect departmental operations and the town’s near-term budgeting; discussions about budget amendments and retreat timing set how council will consider out-of-budget approvals.

Committee votes: The purchase order and the vehicle surplus motions passed on voice votes. The committee recorded no opposing votes in the meeting transcript.