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Richland County administrator presents FY27 budget framework, staff say gap narrowed without recommending tax increase
Summary
Administrator Brown and budget staff told council the FY27 recommended budget reflects strategic alignment and data-driven vetting; departments requested about $175.4 million above FY26 levels and staff recommended packages narrow that gap to roughly $11—11.5 million before council deliberations, with no recommendation to raise taxes at this time.
Chair called the Richland County Council's May 5 budget work session to order and County Administrator Brown opened the meeting by describing the FY27 budget process and the staff's approach to narrowing requests.
Brown told the council that departments began submitting budget requests in October and that the Office of Budget and Strategic Management, finance and HR worked with department heads through a series of meetings and reviews to evaluate requests for strategic alignment, service impact, operational necessity and long-term sustainability. "Every dollar was evaluated for impact, alignment, and sustainability," Brown said.
Brown reported the raw departmental requests represented roughly $175.4 million in additional need above the FY26 baseline across general, special revenue and enterprise funds. After vetting and targeted reductions—including asking departments where they could cut 3% if necessary—staff narrowed the gap to roughly $11 to $12 million before the council begins deliberations. He emphasized staff intentionally sought options that would avoid recommending a tax increase: "We're not saying you have to [cut 3%], but if you had to, where would that come from," Brown said.
Britney Hammond, director of the Office of Budget and Strategic Management, summarized process improvements intended to make requests more consistent and easier to evaluate. Hammond said her office held more than 100 meetings with departments this cycle and will update a public dashboard to reflect measures the council wants to see.
Hammond and Brown framed the recommended package as fiscally disciplined and data-driven: staff prioritized requests that aligned with the county's strategic plan and that demonstrated operational necessity or service impact. The presentation noted recommended adjustments across funds (staff presented recommended general fund adjustments as materially lower than initial department requests) and said finance and HR efforts produced a smaller gap than in prior cycles.
The chair reiterated that this session was informational only: no votes were taken. Council scheduled a follow-up work session for Thursday to complete discussion of utilities and remaining enterprise fund items.
Ending: Councilmembers asked clarifying questions during the presentations and were invited to review the budget packet in detail before Thursday's continuation of the work session.
