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North Augusta midyear budget: insurance, staffing and ARPA projects drive FY25 changes
Summary
City Administrator Jim Clifford told council the FY25 midyear review shows a 10.5% rise in PIVA insurance costs, a 3% employee cost‑of‑living adjustment, three added FTEs and a heavy infrastructure focus via $11.8M in ARPA funds plus a roughly $7.5M RIA grant; he detailed timelines for major projects and outlined the FY26 budget calendar.
City Administrator Jim Clifford presented a midyear FY25 budget update to the North Augusta City Council on Aug. 11, identifying personnel and insurance costs and a portfolio of ARPA and infrastructure projects that shape spending priorities.
Clifford said one major driver is a 10.5% increase in PIVA insurance costs that affected all South Carolina governments. "Eating a 10 and a half percent insurance cost for our personnel is not a minor budget driver," he told council. To help employees, the city implemented a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment and added three full‑time equivalents to the base budget, including a records supervisor, an officer absorbed from a DUI grant and a new Greenway coordinator.
Clifford previewed ARPA spending and related grant activity: the city's ARPA baseline is $11,800,000, and a separate Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) grant of roughly $7.5 million increases the share of infrastructure spending. He said the city has obligated ARPA funds and must complete contracted work by 2026 to meet federal timelines.
Major ongoing projects he named include the Southwest Interceptor Pipeline Rehab (with low bid pricing that allowed change orders), the Carolina Springs lift station (long‑lead equipment scheduled for spring delivery), an 8‑inch slip‑lining project in multiple subdivisions, and the Clay Street booster pump station. Clifford said the Southwest Interceptor work is expected to have an early phase completed in December–January, and the slip‑lining contractor is scheduled to start in September. He flagged the Carolina Springs lift station as timing‑sensitive because equipment delivery runs into early 2026.
On capital and downtown projects, he noted municipal building exterior maintenance, replacement vehicles purchased and outfitting delays for police vehicles, completion of tourism facility improvements and a $25,000 downtown quality‑of‑life allocation used for flower baskets and lighting maintenance. He also described the city’s fiscal calendar: he planned to submit a FY26 budget proposal to the mayor and council "on Thursday the eighteenth" with subsequent hearings and ordinance readings toward a November budget action, subject to timeline adjustments made after Hurricane Helene.
Clifford said the city had added a procurement specialist to centralize contract management and that some grant‑funded public‑safety positions will not immediately matriculate to the general fund. Council members asked clarifying questions and thanked staff for the clear presentation.
What happens next: staff will submit formal budget documents and follow the FY26 calendar noted by Clifford; Council will consider the ordinance readings and related public hearings per the timeline.
