COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Council has officially approved its budget of $1.24 billion for the next fiscal year on June 18. The budget will go into effect on July 1 and includes increased spending for public safety, roadways, and county facilities.
District 1 Councilman, Jason Branham, says he and his fellow council members are happy to have a balanced budget.
“For me, the budget just needs to be financially healthy, and that's the number one priority… we're not scheduled to spend any more than what the county's projected to bring in over the next year," Branham explained.
The new 84-page budget book explains how the county is trying to pay down its debt and readjust its priorities when it comes to funding various projects.
The council voted unanimously to increase spending for law enforcement and public safety by 8% overall. The council is devoting $12 million to maintaining the roads throughout the county and even funding for some upgrades to county facilities like the 911 call center.
However, Branham says his favorite part of the new budget is the mindfulness for the future.
“We are meaningfully building a rainy day fund within the budget. I'm not so sure we’ve had that in years past; we were leaving money for a contingency-type scenario, and that's what we're doing now with this budget," Branham said. "I'm encouraged and believe that we will continue to do that in years going forward so that you know if a rainy day does come, Richland County's got money in the bank to take care of it.”
Council Chair and District 9 representative, Jesica Mackey, says she is also looking forward to seeing the impact of the budget on the community.
“There was $1.8 million towards community impact grants with fun local nonprofits that are working to make an impact in areas surrounding food insecurity, housing, education, and really the other big part that we're happy about is to see $6.2 million to complete capital projects," Mackey stated. "We have a lot of buildings and capital projects within Richland County that are in need of upkeep or repair, and we are setting aside 6.2 million for improvements to our judicial center, our administration building, and our health department facilities, all facilities that residents use on a daily basis, we want to make sure that we are able to maintain those facilities for our citizens.”
Although the council has voted not to increase millage taxes, the decision is not final. The county’s auditor will have the last say when they review the budget over the next month.
Mackey says the county will notify everyone in Richland County if there are any tax increases.
The county will discuss the possibility of another Transportation Penny Tax on Tuesday, June 25, in a work session at 2 p.m.