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Dorchester County previews FY27 budget; staff adds full grant lines, holds salary figures for later
Summary
County staff presented a preliminary FY27 draft that now shows full federal/state grant lines and open grant applications, creating large year-to-year swings on paper; salary details were omitted pending further analysis and will be added before the formal introduction.
Dorchester County leaders on Monday reviewed a preliminary FY27 budget draft that shows the full value of federal and state grants alongside local funding, a change staff said is intended to make grant-related revenues and expenses more transparent.
"Everything you see is preliminary," the Chair said at the start of the session, warning council members not to read the preliminary slides as final appropriations. Staff explained the draft now includes ongoing grant awards and new applications that would previously have been omitted until formally accepted.
Why it matters: including both open grants and grant applications in the draft can make some line items appear to jump sharply between fiscal years even though cash flows and spending will only occur if awards are made and grant documents are executed. Finance staff told the council those grant appropriations would be reconciled by budget amendment when awards are confirmed.
Staff said salary figures were left out of the distributed draft because work on position classification and benefit calculations was not complete. The Chair said salary calculations are "a big piece and it's complex," and asked for latitude to move a follow-up meeting ahead of the April 14 budget introduction so the council can review personnel numbers before formal submission.
The draft also models a possible FY27 teacher-pension obligation the Chair said could rise to about $1.2 million in the worst-case scenario; staff stressed this was a projection based on state guidance, not a final requirement. Separately, the county learned in February that a state board decision will require Dorchester to share the cost of new election equipment: "Dorchester's allotment is $842,000," a staff representative said, with the county responsible for 50% across a three-year phasing schedule.
Audit and cash management remain a priority. Finance staff said on-site auditors are scheduled for the coming week and that FY24 and FY25 audit work is a focus because clean audits will improve the county's ability to restructure debt in the bond market.
Next steps: staff will return with salary tables and the finalized grant-accounting approach; council members directed staff to keep the draft's grant transparency while using budget amendments as awards are confirmed.
