COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a Capitol Work Session meeting Wednesday, it was revealed that Richland County is $295.4 million in debt.
However, County Administrator, Leonardo Brown says for a county of 415,000 people this is not unusual. He says this number does not even come close to the county's debt ceiling.
The debt limit the county has set is equal to 8% of the assessed value of all properties within the county, and right now for Richland, that number is $1.8 billion.
“The county's financial position is strong as communicated by our AAA credit rating," Brown said to county council members.
The Wednesday work session also discussed projects the county wants to complete with its current budget.
Detention Center improvements, a new Public Safety Center, a courthouse, and a new space for DSS have all been discussed, but only DSS and the Public Safety Center have been given a green light.
Both of these projects will go in the Columbia Place Mall with new offices for 911 call takers, Probation and Parole offices and a new space for DSS workers.
The county estimates that improvements to the jail will cost $15 million, $35 million for new DSS offices, $40 million for the Public Safety Center, and $200 million for a new courthouse.
Despite the price tags for each, Brown says none would raise taxes.
"The county has money that it can use and borrow, that won't require the taxpayers to consider any additional increases," the administrator explained.
Richland County Council says they have reached out to both DSS and the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center to find out how much funding they will need for improvements to be made.
Only two out of the four projects have gone before the council at this point.
The next full county council meeting will be Tuesday, March 21, at 6 p.m.