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Oconee County Council advances FY2025–26 budget ordinances and caps school millage at 108.6 mills
Summary
On first reading May 6, Oconee County Council approved the county and several special-district budgets and amended the School District ordinance to add a school millage cap "not to exceed 108.6 mills," all by unanimous votes. Several related tax and district budget ordinances moved forward for later readings.
Oconee County Council on May 6 gave first reading approval to the county’s fiscal 2025–26 budget ordinance and several related tax and special-district budget ordinances, and amended the school budget ordinance to cap the School District of Oconee County’s millage.
The council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2025-01 (county budget) and Ordinance 2025-02 (School District of Oconee County budget) on first reading. Councilman John Elliott moved the county budget ordinance for first reading; the motion carried 5–0. During consideration of the school budget ordinance, Chair Matthew Durham moved, and Councilman Glenn Hart seconded, an amendment to Section 2 adding the language "not to exceed 108.6 mills." The amendment was adopted by a 5–0 vote.
Council also approved first readings of Ordinance 2025-03 (Keowee Fire Special Tax District budget) and Ordinance 2025-04 (Corinth-Shiloh Special Purpose Tax District for fire protection) and took first-reading action on Ordinance 2025-11 (a lease agreement with the South Union Volunteer Fire Department). All first-reading motions were moved by John Elliott, seconded by Glenn Hart, and approved unanimously.
Why it matters: first-reading approval moves these measures forward in the ordinance process; the school-millage amendment places a legal cap on the tax rate included in the school budget ordinance for FY2025–26 pending final readings. The amendment text as added reads "not to exceed 108.6 mills," language Chair Matthew Durham proposed during the meeting.
What’s next: the ordinances will return to Council for subsequent readings as required under local procedure before they become final and the budgets take effect on July 1, 2025.
