The Hampton County Council approved, on third reading Nov. 3, an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2026 budget to reflect first-quarter adjustments, following a public hearing in which staff explained that the changes are a realignment and not a net increase in the overall budget.

Finance staff told the council that an earlier budget included a $1,800,000 temporary-advance (TAN) estimate; after reviewing updated revenue collections, that TAN estimate was removed and replaced with $1,800,000 of actual revenues across several line items—enhanced collections, fines and fees, and local-option sales-tax receipts. The county said that replacement was a "wash" that balanced revenue and expense lines without cutting department budgets.

"We are going off of actual numbers of actual collections," a finance representative said, describing efforts by the treasurer's office to match revenues to the periods in which they were earned. Finance staff also clarified that the building-permit revenue line increased because of actual higher-than-expected collections, not because the fee schedule itself was raised.

During the public hearing Mary Benton (Brunson) asked whether a projected 300% increase in building-permit revenue reflected one large project or many smaller permits. Finance staff said the $98,501 estimate had a prior-year outlier exceeding $300,000; the 300% figure reflected expected collections relative to the original conservative estimate rather than a change in the permit fee.

Finance staff said the budget book and line-item spreadsheets remain available; amendments will be posted and the county will continue quarterly reviews. Council moved the ordinance through third reading and the motion carried; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally in the public record.

Council discussion during the ordinance debate ranged beyond revenue mechanics to personnel procedure: members asked about a temporary pause on filling vacancies while human-resources processes were reviewed and requested that any policy changes that affect hiring be communicated to council for review and, when required, formal adoption.