Let’s Talk Money
Written by Charlie Wetmore
ell, it’s that time of year again. It’s the time of year where the area governments go through their annual budgets. Beaufort County Council is in the middle of dealing with the county budget. The Beaufort County School district is in the middle of doing the same. Bluffton is also in the process of setting its budget for the next fiscal year.
Bluffton’s fiscal year ends on June 30th so the new budget must be passed by that date. If it is not then the town will not be able to operate. In Mid-May the Town Council was presented with the proposed budget by the Town Manager. A lot of hard work has gone into the budget and Town Council met to discuss it on May 19th. It became clear at that meeting that some revisions were needed to the budget.
The proposed budget had a suggested tax increase in it for a new Law Enforcement Center. The budget also had a suggested fee in it to help pay for garbage collection that the town provides. It has been a tough year in the economy in general. It has also been a tough year for the town. There have been two rounds of budget reductions already this year and now it looks like we need to trim even farther.
On May 19th, Town Council expressed their concern that, with the economy the way it is, it would be unwise to increase taxes on our citizens. With many people losing their homes and/or jobs, and many more that are close to that, even a small tax increase could hurt tremendously. The Town Manager asked for help from the Council in revising his proposed budget.
Because of this, the Town Council and Town Manager will be meeting throughout the month of June to come up with a budget that does not put an additional burden on the Town’s taxpayers. This will not be easy but, in my opinion, we must do it.
We have already scaled back staffing levels, put a freeze on all raises and consolidated some departments and positions. During June we will be looking together for ways to scale back enough so that there are no increases to the citizens. Why? Because it is the right thing to do at this time. We are all facing challenges in this tough economy and the Town of Bluffton needs to step up and be a part of the solution. We are well on our way to doing this. It will take a lot of hard work to get to the point we need to but we can do it.
At the same time, we have to re-assess the Capital Projects in the town. Setting and refining the Capital Projects budget is a part of the annual budgeting process.
I do not take this budgeting process and decision lightly and I’m sure the rest of the Council feels the same way. We truly appreciate your support and encouragement through this time.
Speaking of Capital Projects, the town continues to move along with three major ones:
-Streetscape Project: Things are in full swing now. Sewer is being installed where needed, drainage is being improved and new curbing and sidewalks started appearing in May! I ask that you continue to be patient as this large and complicated process continues along through the summer. If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to contact the Town of Bluffton Engineering Department.
-Oyster Factory Park: The next part of this project to be addressed is Wharf Street itself. The street will be redesigned so that stormwater does not flow straight down it and into the May River. This will be yet another element in the design of the park that leads to less of an impact on the river.
-Law Enforcement Center: The Design-Build process has started. The hired contractor will begin assessing the needs of the project and will come up with an accurate estimate of the final cost involved.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at:
cwetmore@Townofbluffton.com
Charlie Wetmore
Council Member, Town of Bluffton
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