Hampton County council adopts first-quarter FY2026 budget changes after public hearing
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Summary
At third reading Nov. 3 the council approved first-quarter amendments to the FY2026 budget. Finance staff said the adjustments do not change the overall budget total: a previously budgeted temporary $1.8 million TAN estimate was replaced by newly recognized revenue (enhanced collections), and several departmental line items were realigned.
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.