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Pickens County presents 2026 proposed budget; first public hearing closes with no comments
Summary
Commissioners presented highlights of the 2026 proposed budget, including a $41.96 million general fund and a proposed $0.75 hourly COLA for full-time staff; the first public hearing closed with no public comments and the board scheduled a second hearing in December and a final vote on Dec. 15.
Chairman (first speaking at SEG 001) presented the highlights of Pickens County's proposed 2026 budget during the board's November meeting and opened the first of two public hearings on the draft plan.
Key figures presented included a proposed general fund of $41,955,793 and enterprise fund totals that cover water operations and airport operations (staff cited $4,083,947 for water and $2,763,249 for airport-related enterprise totals). The E-911 special fund was listed at $1,741,733 and judicial grants at $2,749,895. Revenues noted included combined taxes of about $32,300,841 and charges for services at roughly $4,597,000. Chairman said the proposed general fund represents a 4.33% increase and described a uniform cost-of-living increase of $0.75 per hour for full-time employees as part of the balanced budget.
Chairman explained that a public copy of the detailed line-item budget is available in the clerk's office while the draft remains unpublished online. He also noted historical changes in how seasonal and poll-worker positions appear in headcount figures and explained intergovernmental staffing arrangements for accountability-court personnel that raise local headcount numbers.
The board opened the hearing for public comment and recorded none; commissioners closed the first hearing. The chairman said the process continues with a second public hearing at a December work session and that the board expects to vote on the budget on Dec. 15.
