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Greenville County reviews proposed 2027 budget, preserves reserves and boosts public-safety pay
Summary
County Administrator Mishra presented a proposed 2027 budget that holds the property tax rate steady while prioritizing reserves and targeted pay increases, including an extra 2.5 percentage points for public-safety employees. Councilors pressed staff on road-program cuts, fund-balance targets and several new personnel requests.
County Administrator Mishra presented the Greenville County Council with a proposed 2027 budget that keeps the county's property tax rate unchanged and emphasizes maintaining healthy reserves while funding targeted personnel and capital needs.
"This budget does, meet council priorities, transparent and responsive government, strategic growth and land use planning, targeted economic development, fiscal stewardship and core services including public safety," Mishra said as he walked members through the plan. He noted the budget would maintain what he called an "average general fund balance of $71,800,000" and provide a 2.5% raise for all employees plus an additional 2.5% increase for public-safety staff.
The administrator detailed personnel and capital items added to the draft: six deputy positions for the sheriff's office; two additional coroner positions; four administrative positions for the clerk of court; one governmental-affairs support position; and a $7,000,000 lease-purchase program for vehicle and heavy-equipment replacement spread over seven to 10 years. Mishra also listed a $227,500,000 road program allocation (down from last year), $1,000,000 proposed for affordable housing, $1,500,000 for the Natural Resources Trust and $21,937,000 in other capital projects.
Councilors focused questions on the county's fiscal policy and the point at which reserves would become a red flag. Mishra pointed to an internal policy that requires maintaining a fund balance equal to 25%–35% of general-fund expenditures and said staff would consider expenditure cuts if the fund balance dipped toward the low end of that range.
On the revenue side, Mishra told the council the budget does not propose a property-tax increase; revenue growth in the plan is driven by new development. He also cautioned that volatile inputs such as fuel costs and the cost of asphalt for road projects could affect projections.
The workshop featured several requests for additional detail. Council members asked staff to model alternate pay scenarios to address retention and compaction issues in key departments and requested more line-item information on departmental increases, such as the clerk of court and magistrates.
No formal votes were held at the workshop; administrators said additional workshops will be scheduled before second reading so council members can propose amendments and staff can supply requested data.
