Committee approves $1.064 million short-term borrowing list for 2026 capital projects, moves plan to county board

The Richland County Executive and Finance Committee on July 8 voted to forward a proposed 2026 short-term borrowing list totaling $1,064,000 for capital projects to the full county board.

The administrator said the borrowing list includes technology upgrades for a small courtroom (microphones and video/Zoom capability), a countywide server refresh, highway mapping purchases, squad vehicle purchases and department software for body-camera evidence management. The list also includes an HVAC replacement for a county facility.

Committee members discussed how capital projects have been managed in prior years and asked for access to the broader five-year capital-improvement plan (CIP) the administration said exists. The administrator and committee members said departments had previously shifted some projects between capital and operational budgets and that the committee will be provided the multi-year CIP spreadsheet that departments prepared for 2026-2028.

Supervisor Deal moved to forward the resolution authorizing the short-term borrowing list to the county board; Supervisor Cooley seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote.

The administrator said some items on the proposed short-term borrowing list may be funded in future years by the city or other partners and that department heads had identified capital needs during recent budget meetings. The committee also discussed the need to more clearly define which projects are capital and to track previously borrowed funds and project completion.

The committee asked the administration to provide the living CIP spreadsheet so the committee could track projects and ensure borrowed funds are used as intended. The resolution forwarded to the county board would authorize the listed 2026 projects to be funded by short-term borrowing unless departments secure alternate funding.