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City staff: April finances mostly on track, but stormwater billing shift and county collections prompt questions
Summary
City finance staff told council that most funds are tracking near target in April but flagged parks, traffic and police timing issues, a stormwater billing change that captured previously unbilled accounts, and inconsistent county collections that staff will investigate.
City finance staff briefed council on April financial results and the 2027 budget timeline, reporting that most funds tracked near targets but highlighting several timing-driven exceptions and a change in stormwater billing that may increase collections.
Amy Burton, city finance staff, said general fund expenditures were “pretty much under target” across departments as of April 30, with the exceptions tied mainly to timing: parks had rolled-over 2025 purchase orders for repairs, human resources was affected by contract timing, and police showed an operating overage after earlier-than-expected body camera and taser purchases. For housing and community development, Burton said personnel costs related to temporary warming-shelter staffing would be covered by a transfer from the city’s emergency fund.
The briefing also detailed revenues. Burton said property taxes were tracking over target (driven by motor vehicle, delinquent real property and personal-property collections), permit-and-plan-review fees were performing well, and franchise fees had rebounded, coming in about $588,000 over target after prior shortfalls. Intergovernmental receipts were largely local-option sales taxes; staff noted Charleston County was at target while Berkeley County was 6.3% over target in the most recent reports.
Councilwoman Waring pressed staff about the shift of the stormwater fee onto the property tax bill. Burton explained that moving stormwater billing to property-tax statements is now capturing accounts previously missed when the fee was billed through water accounts — for example, vacant parcels or properties without an active water meter — and that late payments and collection differences at Charleston Water System (CWS) contributed to higher collections. Burton said roughly $600,000 of late fees collected from CWS accounts factored into the increased stormwater receipts and that staff would analyze county reports and work with Berkeley County to reconcile collection inconsistencies.
Councilmember Baden raised concerns about homestead exemptions and appeals, asking whether those were accounted for in revenue projections. Burton said staff used conservative estimates to allow for homestead exemptions and anticipated appeals when building the stormwater forecast; she noted staff expected some appeals and had adjusted projections accordingly.
On enterprise funds, Burton said facilities such as Angel Oak, City Market, the municipal golf course and parking operations were doing better than early-year projections, though Councilman Greg questioned large percentage variances for the golf course and some parking lines. Burton attributed those variances to conservative targets following a slow start last year and stronger activity this year. She also cautioned that revenue for the VRTC garage is managed by contractor CBB and requires monitoring.
Staff said they would return with further analysis on county collections and the specific parcels affected by the stormwater billing change. The council set its next meeting for June 24 at 3:30 p.m.
