County treasurer frames FY26 request around investment earnings, staff pay and customer service upgrades

Maria Wallace, Beaufort County treasurer, presented the treasurer's FY26 budget request to the Finance, Administration & Economic Development Committee on April 21. She said the office manages about $1.14 billion on average and projects $34 million in investment returns for FY25, figures she said help the county avoid larger tax increases. "Every dollar that we can earn in investments is a dollar that's not coming out of our taxpayers' pocket," Wallace said.

Wallace asked the committee to consider a general-fund request of just over $2.6 million to cover operations and a combination of personnel increases. She said the personnel package includes a $3,000 flat cost-of-living adjustment and additional merit awards for high performers. "A $3,000 is more impactful on a lower-earning employee than 3%," Wallace told council members when explaining why she preferred a flat amount for some positions.

The treasurer also outlined several operational changes she plans to expand, including rolling out a text-based service for taxpayers, continued use of the state's pooled investment account, and expanding Zendesk for consolidated phone, chat and messaging. Wallace said the office expects collection rates to exceed 99% after the October tax sale and that current services handle roughly 445,000 accounts. Committee members asked for clarifications on several line items, including professional services and bank-fee timing; Wallace said bank service costs are often calculated and charged annually and that the office negotiates earnings-credit arrangements to offset fees.

What happens next: The committee moved the item along as part of the broader budget calendar and scheduled a May 5 special finance meeting to review revised budget numbers before forwarding recommendations to the full council.