Beaufort County budget: tax rate stays flat, EMS adds 4th shift, Sheriff and Solicitor get bump
Running Beaufort County will cost just over $199 million in the upcoming fiscal year, representing a 20% increase over last year’s total.
The budget, increasing by $34 million, will yield a fourth shift for Beaufort County EMS, salary bumps for early career officers within the Beaufort County’s Sheriff’s and a budget jump for the Solicitor’s Office all while setting aside millions for capital improvements throughout the county.
The county’s Chief Financial Officer, Pinky Harriott, explained that the county’s tax rate will not increase next year. Before getting into the upcoming fiscal year’s budget details, here is a rundown of the county’s main funds.
County budget basics
To most people, reading and understanding a budget is a daunting task. But simply, Beaufort County’s budget represents the millions of dollars that the county has allocated for different expenditures. They are tasked with a mandate to do the best they can with what they have for the thousands living in the county.
At risk of oversimplifying the equation, this is somewhat like the modern household financial equation. There is money coming in (revenues) and money going out (expenditures).
Drilling a layer down to specifics, in his transmittal letter, or introduction of the 2025 budget (the one that is due to expire at the end of this month), County Administrator Michael Moore detailed, in plain English, where the money comes from and where it goes.
Here are some of the takeaways.
The different funds
The General Fund is the county’s primary operating fund.
- The expenditures in the General Fund go to the day-to-day running of most county offices.
- Real estate and personal property taxes make up the majority of the fund’s revenues. In the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, these taxes account for about 70% of the revenue.
- Charges for service are the second largest contributor to the fund’s revenue.
Special Revenue Funds serve specific programs and needs and last year had a budget of $143 million.
- The use of these funds have specific rules or are legally restricted in how the money can be spent.
- Depending on what happens during the year, these special revenue funds and the General Fund can have some overlap and that’s what has been happening since the 2024 budget.
- The county has several Special Revenue Funds, each of which must balance each fiscal year, meaning revenues must equal or exceed expenditures for each fund every year.
Enterprise Funds are under the umbrella of the county, but these areas often act like traditional businesses.
Customers of these types of funds are external to the government, but the funds are still under the governance of County Council.
Beaufort Executive Airport, Hilton Head Island Airport and Solid Waste and Recycling are included in this fund.
Like special revenue funds, enterprise funds also must balance each fiscal year.
Beyond what’s listed above, there are tax revenues that are held for long-term capital projects, paying off loans the county has (debt service) and funding the three-year Capital Improvement Fund, all of which have a lifespan that’s longer than one fiscal year.
With this understanding of the overly simplified ins-and-outs of municipal finance, there needs to be an accounting of where some of the bigger shifts are happening with spending as the 2026 budget winds its way to a final vote.
Details of the upcoming budget
Beaufort County’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year will remain mil neutral, meaning it’s possible taxpayers will not see much of a cash-out-of-pocket hike on their bills, especially if they did not make changes to their property.
This doesn’t apply to some situations, most notably assessment value increases. Causes of these increases can be relatively small if it is an annual assessment change or large when a piece of real property changes ownership, a new home is sold or significant changes are made like the addition of a garage or new living quarters.
Despite a few amendments, the Beaufort County Council approved the budget on second reading. It requires three total readings before final approval. The budget will be read for a third time in June, where, if it is approved, will become the budget that will take the county through June 2026.
Here are the top things to know about the county’s proposed spending blueprint for the coming year.
Mil value predicted to raise tax revenue by nearly $12M
The value of a mil in Beaufort County estimated at $2.9 million for fiscal year 2026, Harriott said.
Mil value increased by $275k, over 10%, and it will bring in close to $11.6 million in additional revenue for the county this year. The value of a mil helps to determine how much revenue the county will bring in from personal and property taxes, and the increase is due to a rise in value for those properties.
There are other revenue sources beyond that are increasing for the upcoming year, including, among many other line items, emergency medical fees and magistrate fines.
$36M is allocated for capital improvement projects
The county has set aside over $36 million to put toward 92 upcoming projects in fiscal year 2026.
Some of the projects include:
- Replacing the turf in kennel yards for the county’s animals services department, $140k
- Interior renovations at the county’s detention center, $600k
- Wimbee Creek fishing pier replacement, $200k
Ribaut Road/Lady’s Island Drive intersection improvements, $1.5M
New construction of a laboratory facility for Mosquito Control, $950k
Hilton Head Library re-roof, $176k
St. Helena Library HVAC replacement, $50k
There are two distinct aspects of Capital Improvements Projects. Allocations from the general fund pay for the department’s salaries and operations, but a separate Capital Improvement Fund is where actual projects are managed.
The CIP fund will receive 3.2 mils again this year, which will bring in $9.5 million. The county is also adding $15 million to the CIP fund from the general fund balance to get remaining projects over the finish line, contribute to new projects and to counter rising inflation. An additional $11 million will roll over from last year’s funds for projects that have already been approved but have not yet started.
County EMS is adding a fourth shift
Beaufort County approved the transition from a three shift, 24-hour on, 48-hour off schedule, to a four shift, 24-hour on, 72-hour off schedule. The reason for this was to alleviate physical and mental exhaustion faced by emergency responders in the county.
To complete the fourth shift, which requires 31 people in specific positions, the county needed to provide enough funding for five EMTs positions and three other leadership roles. This would ultimately reduce the high price of unscheduled overtime. According to an executive summary from the department, over the past four budget years, unscheduled overtime averaged 54.5% of the expenditure from the EMS overtime budget.
In fiscal year 2026, EMS received an additional $1.65 million to fund the new salaries. Their overtime allocation was reduced by more than half, from $3.2 million to $1.5 million.
Sheriff, Solicitor see budget bumps
A sheriff’s deputy will now make a starting salary of $60,000, thanks to the COLA and additional funds allocated to the department’s administrative division. The department received an additional $3.5 million from the general fund compared to the past fiscal year, the large portion of which is going toward the salary bump.
The Solicitor’s Office will also see a 57% budget bump from $1.7 million to $2.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year. While the percentage seems high, the budget allocated to the department has stayed relatively flat for the past three years, as detailed in 2026 budget documents.
For those interested, the full version of the proposed budget can be found in the agenda packet from the special-called finance committee meeting on May 8.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM.
