Richland County Council meets June 5, 2007
By Mike Cox
MWC423@bellsouth.net

Roll call

Joe McEachern, Joyce Dickerson, Val Hutchinson, Norman Jackson, Damon Jeter, Paul Livingston, Bill Malinowski, Mike Montgomery, Greg Pearce, Bernice Scott, and Kit Smith were present.

Agenda

Councilwoman Kit Smith suggested moving the budget amendment to the end of the agenda so people interested in other things wouldn't be inconvenienced. About 90% of the packed house was on hand for the budget news, so the crowd didn't dwindle as the night progressed.

Three public hearing items came and went without support or opposition, and all but two of the night's lengthy consent agenda remained so. Both items removed from consent were passed without opposition after some clarification.

A recommendation from the planning commission to incorporate the Renaissance Plan for the Decker Boulevard/Woodfield Park area was approved, along with zoning changes on Shop Road and Garners Ferry Road. A Midlands Technical College request for multi- county industrial park status was also approved.

The budget process

County Administrator Milton Pope handed out addendums to the budget information, then introduced county auditor Harry Huntley to answer council questions for the last time. Before he opened the floor, Huntley explained how the process will be different this year.

Changes in state law make the cap on certain expenses more concrete than in past years, and county governments must operate backwards from past years. Huntley said the new process is more precarious but is confident he has been conservative enough in his estimates to be on target when the final millage figures are brought before council in September.

Greg Pearce asked for assurances the final tally would be within cap range. Huntley said he was as confident that would be the case. Norman Jackson wondered whether the process would be seamless with a new auditor set to take over. Huntley assured him the auditor's staff was key in the process, and they were well aware of what was going on.

Chairman Joe McEachern asked the outgoing auditor if he was comfortable the figures in the fall would be okay and Huntley told him he was. Bill Malinowski asked if higher taxes would result if the caps were exceeded and was told yes.

Mike Montgomery explained the cap would keep taxes from rising because the cap was on the millage rate rather than dollars, so no extra taxes would be added to the cap. His explanation was concise, detailed, and correct. Four heads exploded from all the extra knowledge.

During item by item voting, Malinowski asked for the extra car tax ear- marked for the transportation study to be reduced from $16 to $10. He said there was an excess in collected funds and now was the time to correct the mistake. Livingston and Montgomery disagreed, saying the funds might be needed for transition, depending on what the transportation committee found out, and how the voters chose to handle funding.

Smith offered a compromise; leave the fee as it is and re- evaluate in October. Her substitute motion passed. So did the overall budget amendment. After executive session and motion period, the meeting was adjourned.