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Board reviews county land assets and adopts 2027 budget guidance with limits on new or vacant position requests
Summary
Supervisors reviewed county land assets (Ash Creek forest, Pine Valley campus, fairgrounds, airport and tax‑deed properties) as potential revenue or development levers and approved 2027 budget guidance with an amendment requiring administrator and county board chair approval before adding new or currently vacant positions to 2027 budget submissions.
At the June 9 meeting, Richland County supervisors reviewed a portfolio of county land and asset issues alongside budget guidance for 2027.
Administrator Trish Clemens presented summaries for several county holdings: the Ash Creek Community Forest (about 354 acres; fund balance $1,634.50), county parks (revenues and maintenance expenses), Tri‑County Airport (county contributions budgeted at about $32,562), Pine Valley campus acreage (roughly 67 acres, with some wooded and inaccessible portions), and fairgrounds (five‑year average revenue about $18,381; expenses roughly $25,000). Clemens said the treasurer and staff are compiling a fuller inventory of tax‑deed properties and that the county has historically used demolition or redevelopment programs in coordination with city partners to return properties to the tax roll.
Board members proposed several near‑term revenue and development ideas: leasing farmland, developing campsites or short‑term lodging to capture tourism, pursuing targeted demolition and resale of tax‑deed parcels, and creating partnerships or foundations to help fund assets off the levy. Supervisors noted a spike in sanitary and zoning activity and regional Airbnb/camping growth, and recommended prioritizing low‑cost, near‑term projects (for example, campground upgrades near the fairgrounds) as potential quick wins.
On the budget, Administrator Clemens presented draft 2027 guidance advising strict adherence to the state operating levy limit, fully funding mandatory services, holding a 25% general fund balance, and projecting a one‑step wage advancement plus a 2.5% COLA; assumptions included a 7.2% WRS rate and an ETF health premium increase. In response to board concerns about vacant positions and the potential for departments to assume they would be refilled, supervisors adopted an amendment requiring that department budget submissions exclude new positions and current vacant positions unless pre‑approved by the county administrator and county board chair for inclusion in the 2027 budget. The motion (moved by Supervisor Wel and seconded by Supervisor Kramer) carried; staff will distribute guidance to department heads and run program worksheets for service‑level analysis.
The meeting adjourned after setting follow‑up items: circulate the county's 2022 revenue/levy study to committee members, compile a detailed tax‑deed parcel list for possible remediation, and develop a short list of low‑cost land/park projects to investigate.
