Florence County Council OKs budget with 1-percent cut

FLORENCE — Florence County Council has approved final reading of its budget, which includes a 1-percent across-the-board cut, and debated whether the county can find fill dirt for cheaper than $208,700 for Johnsonville’s future library site.

Councilman James Schofield said at Thursday’s meeting council must take a “more active role in viewing capital expenditures” and bids long before they appear on the agenda.

“We need more information, not less; we need more involvement, not less,” he said during a discussion on the budget. 

Some items in the budget, such as computer upgrades, could use further consideration because it’s unclear whether they’ll keep appearing year after year, Schofield said following the meeting.

The council’s Administration and Finance Committee will take a look at the upgrades, said K.G. “Rusty” Smith, chairman of the council and committee.

As for where the 1-percent cuts will be made, the county is leaving that decision to its departments, which deal with their individual budgets daily, Smith said earlier this week.

The recommendations don’t include a cost-of-living adjustment for employees, but the county is avoiding job cuts, Smith said.

Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said his department’s cut will total $146,000, which would affect capital improvements rather than salaries or services. The office had set aside $800,000 for capital improvements and anticipated a cut of 1 to 3 percent, Boone said.

The county budget also includes an annual solid waste household fee of $58 instead of the originally proposed $89, Smith said. The fee, which has been $35.52 a year, goes toward operation of the county’s manned convenience centers as well as disposal and hauling of garbage.

Raising the solid waste household fee aims to end the $2-million-a-year subsidy to the solid waste fund from the general fund, which would make the general fund “whole” and the solid waste fund self-sustaining, Florence County Finance Director Kevin Yokim said earlier this month.

The main reason why the county finds itself in such a “predicament” with the budget is because of a $1.6 million cut in state funding to local governments as well as $7.8 million in state-imposed mandates, Smith said earlier this week.

The county’s state health insurance premiums also are increasing by $350,000, according to county documents.

Schofield said that while now is not the time for a tax increase, one might be necessary in the future so that the county can build a new judicial facility.

Council voted to approve the $208,711 change order to buy dirt for the future Johnsonville Branch Library site with the contingency that Florence County Administrator Richard Starks and councilman Ken Ard, who represents the area, will determine whether they can find cheaper dirt locally.

Council approved the construction of the library along with new branches in Olanta and Timmonsville when FBi Construction of Florence offered bids of $1.05 million for each library — a much more favorable price than county officials said they’d expected.

“To say this is a bad deal is a misstatement,” Ard said. “This is a bad part of a good deal.”

Florence County Library System Director Ray McBride said the library also is awaiting a $95,000 grant through U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. He’s concerned fuel prices will continue to rise if the project is delayed, he said.

Councilman Russell Culberson raised the question about the change order, but said he wanted only to see if the county could get a better price.

“I don’t intend to derail the project; I don’t intend to drag it out,” he said.

About 8,000 cubic yards of dirt is needed to replace soil that could become liquefied during an earthquake, architect David Dixon told council. In addition, the dirt will provide elevation for the site that will cause all water runoff to travel into a retention pond on the property, McBride said after the meeting.

The cost of building the library would still remain about 10 percent under budget, Dixon told council.

Site work also will include an additional $80,000 for asphalt, curbs, tap fees, and a retention pond with a fence, county officials said.

FBi Construction’s original bid on the library included an allowance of about $112,500 for site work, but the county didn’t have a final site plan and hadn’t yet bought an additional half-acre needed for the library.

In other business, council approved second reading of an ordinance to give a local company LIBRIS Redevelopment LLC an option to buy, renovate and preserve the former Florence County Library building.

Council also voted to accept a three-year, $272,523 U.S. Justice Department grant that would buy equipment for five new sheriff’s deputies. Boone said his office has applications out for $2.4 million in grants and expects another U.S. Justice Department grant to fund the hiring of the deputies.