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Council approves FY2025–26 budget adjustments including legal fees and opioid-recovery funds
Summary
City Council unanimously approved second-reading budget amendments that add $200,000 for legal fees in Blake et al. v. City of Aiken, $85,000 toward payoff of an SBA mortgage for the African American History, Art and Culture center, $182,284 from the SC Opioid Recovery Fund for medical supplies, and a $40,000 SHPO grant match.
At second reading on Feb. 23, Aiken City Council adopted budget adjustments for fiscal year 2025–26 to address several specific needs. City staff presented four principal allocations: $200,000 to cover legal fees related to the Blake et al. v. City of Aiken litigation; an $85,000 payment toward an existing Small Business Administration mortgage so the board of the Center for the African American History, Art, and Culture (received in 2016) can remove collateralized status and direct fundraising to capital improvements; $182,284 in opioid-recovery funds to purchase medical supplies for the Department of Public Safety; and a $40,000 grant match associated with an award from the South Carolina Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
Councilman Broll moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion was seconded and the council approved the adjustments by a voice vote recorded as unanimous. No amendments were offered during the hearing. Staff said the opioid-recovery funds derive from national class-action settlements and that the SHPO match is a required local contribution tied to a specific grant. The council did not alter the allocation plan presented by staff.
The budget action was a second reading and therefore adopts the appropriations described; staff will implement the allocations through standard finance processes. The council did not tie additional policy conditions to the allocations at this meeting.
