At its September meeting the Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved a package of FY2025 budget amendments and transfers and adopted updates to the county financial policy.

The package of budget changes included a $15,159 transfer from community support to the capital improvement program (CIP) fund and an appropriation of $12,500,000 in fund balance to increase transfers into the CIP fund. Commissioners established several new CIP projects and funding lines, including a $4,000,000 Coleman Courthouse refurbishment, a $2,000,000 marine patrol facility, $5,000,000 for fire facilities and equipment, a $1,000,000 Highway 17 safety community center project, and a $500,000 Hutchinson Island Riverwalk project for FY2026. The agenda also showed additional transfers from operating budgets and adjustments with specific line items noted by staff.

A motion to approve the budget amendments and transfers was made and seconded and the board voted to approve the request (votes were cast; individual tallies were not specified in the transcript).

Following the budget action, the board heard a presentation from the finance director on comprehensive updates to the county's financial policy. Miss Davis, the county's finance director, told commissioners the goal of the rewrite was to consolidate disparate procedures into clear policy and to tighten controls. Key changes she cited include a new accounts-payable policy, a requirement that P-card purchases receive delivery to county-owned facilities, an increase in the enterprise funds' self-sufficiency expectation from 50% to 75%, and a mandatory five-year rolling CIP update. The update also restricts repurposing of salary savings before year end, moves responsibility for audits to internal audit while retaining finance review authority, and clarifies travel and reimbursement rules, including capping mileage reimbursement at the cost of a round-trip airfare ticket.

"We periodically review our financial policies to update them," Miss Davis said in the presentation. "Funding decisions must align with the county's strategic plan." After discussion the board moved and seconded approval of the financial policy updates; the motion carried (votes recorded; tallies not specified).

The board then moved to accept the day's action calendar in its entirety by motion and vote.

The actions recorded in the meeting packet and read into the record will be reflected in the county's published minutes and appropriation documents. The transcript does not include vote tallies for the motions; where a specific roll call or tally is required by statute, the official minutes should be consulted.