At a special call meeting, the Easly City Council approved an ordinance adopting the city’s operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and amended the measure to set aside $399,855 from the city’s road fee fund for a proposed roundabout at the Canaan Land–Olive Street intersection.

Council and staff framed most of the roughly $10 million increase in the budget as one-time or nonrecurring spending drawn from built-up special funds. Ralph (city staff) told the meeting that hospitality and impact-fee accounts and certain unbudgeted expenditures explain much of the difference: “So all told, that's 9,300,000.0 in things that will not be recurring,” he said. He also said the proposed property-tax increase tied to the budget represents about $390,000.

The amendment that passed at the meeting would sequester $399,855 in the road fee fund (fund 13) toward the Canaan Land/Olive Street roundabout, require the city administrator to notify the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) of the availability of the funds, and keep unspent amounts in the road fee fund rather than returning them to the general fund. The motion to amend was offered by Speaker 1 and seconded by Speaker 5; councilors voted by hand raise to amend the ordinance and then to adopt Ordinance 2025-06, which implements the FY2025–26 budget as amended. The transcript does not record a roll-call or a numerical tally for the final vote.

Several members of the public and councilors pressed staff on the budget’s composition and process. A public commenter asked, “Do we have to go 10,000,000 over budget this year?” (Speaker 4), raising worries about recurring obligations and whether built-up funds would be exhausted. Another commenter criticized approving the increase without a completed audit: “We are sitting here today about to approve a budget without an audit complete,” said Speaker 11. Staff and council responded that the FY2024 audit review is nearing completion and that the FY2023 audit had been presented in October; staff estimated the outstanding work would allow the audit to be presented to council in July or August.

Council discussion on the amendment focused on whether a separate pledge or a simple budget designation would better protect the money for the roundabout and whether the ordinance language should include or strike a three-year return clause. Legal counsel advised the council that either approach—amending the budget now or dedicating the funds later by resolution—could work but recommended technical review and clear language from the city attorney. Council ultimately amended the ordinance to designate the road-fee allocation for the roundabout and removed the three-year language as discussed.

Staff told the council that although capital purchases are one-time expenses, maintenance and upkeep could create ongoing costs if the city takes on new facilities or infrastructure; that the general fund balance was about $8 million; and that auditors typically expect a multi-month reserve. Staff also confirmed that some of the fund balance being spent—about $983,000 in the examples discussed—can be traced to the federal ARPA lost-revenue allocation.

The ordinance adopted by council (Ordinance 2025-06) sets the city’s operating budget for the fiscal period July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026, with the amendment designating the paving/road fee funds for the Canaan Land roundabout. The council directed staff and legal counsel to prepare the final amendment language for the written ordinance and to present the audit documents to the council when available.

The meeting concluded after a brief clarification of votes and procedural points.