Pay raises rule the day as local governments finish budgets
By Bobby Bryant, Editor
editor@newsandpress.net
The local governments in Darlington County have been racing a June 30 deadline to complete their budgets for the next fiscal year, and here’s the bottom line: If you’re a municipal, school-district or county employee, you’re almost certainly getting a pay raise.
County government, the school district and the county’s four municipalities had to complete their budgets for fiscal 2022-23 by the end of the month. Some finished earlier than others.
Darlington City Council wrapped up its budget work June 27, three days ahead of the deadline. Society Hill Town Council signed off on its budget June 29, a day before deadline. The Darlington County School Board put its budget to bed June 30, several hours before the clock struck midnight. The new fiscal year began July 1.
Here’s a brief look at what the new local government budgets will mean to residents and employees:
CITY OF DARLINGTON: There will be no increases in property taxes and no increase in property-tax millage. However, some residential fees are going up.
Sanitation fees are rising from $28.50 to $35 per month, an increase of $6.50, or 23 percent. Stormwater fees are rising from $6.50 to $10 per month, an increase of $3.50, or 54 percent. These may be sore points for residents still stinging from the city’s reluctant decision to raise water/sewer fees 40 percent in 2020 to save the city’s water system from financial collapse.
Darlington is making adjustments to its water and sewer fees, but those changes are intended to have no impact on typical residential customers, those using 5,000 gallons or less per month. That amounts to about 80 percent of customers, the city says.
For major water users, typically businesses, fees are going up. Customers using 10,000 gallons and above per month (about 200 customers) will see a 20 percent increase on their per-gallon rate for water and sewer. Customers using 5,001 to 10,000 gallons (about 400 customers) will see a 10 percent increase on the per-gallon rate for water and sewer, the city says.
“Rate increases (are) required to cover the meteoric rise in supply costs,” the city said in a statement. “For example, fuel is up 78 percent, PVC pipe is up from $5 a foot to $15 a foot (a jump of three times the normal price), and the price of a water meter went from $180 to $500 (a 178 percent increase). Staff worked to evaluate how to impact the least number of customers and those on the lower end of the income spectrum by focusing rate hikes on heavy users, which are almost exclusively commercial.”
Here is the city’s plan for pay raises for employees. First responders (police and fire) making less than $60,000 a year will receive a 5 percent increase in base pay. First responders making more than $60,000 a year will get a 2 percent increase in base pay.
All other staff making less than $60,000 a year will get a 3 percent increase in base pay.
All other staff making more than $60,000 get a 2 percent increase. (As a contract employee, City Manager John Payne isn’t included in this, the city says.)
CITY OF HARTSVILLE: Hartsville residents won’t face a tax increase in next fiscal year’s budget or residential fee increases, said City Manager Daniel Moore. He said the city, however, is raising its commercial sanitation rate by 3 percent.
All city employees, Moore said, will get a 3.5 percent pay raise, or “cost of living adjustment.” He said City Council discussed higher or lower increases based on one’s job or pay grade, but opted for a plan that would show employees they’re all equally valuable.
Moore said Hartsville normally gives employees a COLA of about 2 percent a year, but this year council raised it to keep up with inflation.
This year’s budget process was “fairly smooth,” he said. City revenue rose by $450,000, Moore said. “We push for business development,” he said. “We push for quality of life.”
TOWN OF LAMAR: No increases in taxes or fees are planned for the small Darlington County town, an official said. Town police officers are to receive a pay increase taking them from $14 an hour to $16 an hour.
TOWN OF SOCIETY HILL: The town plans no increases in taxes or fees for the next fiscal year. Town Clerk Brenda Nettles will receive a raise, and the town’s police officer, Renee Worden, is being promoted to chief, with a commensurate salary increase.
COUNTY OF DARLINGTON: The county’s budget plan calls for a slight tax increase – 4.4 mills – which county officials have said would work out to about $15 a year more for the owner of a $100,000 home. After discussions about different ways of spreading out a pay raise, such as merit raises, the county settled on giving all employees, both part-time and full-time, a 3 percent across-the board raise.
There are no fee increases in the new budget, county officials said.
DARLINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: In addition to a “step” increase routinely awarded to teachers, Darlington County’s public-school teachers will be getting a flat $3,000 pay raise under the new budget the School Board approved last week. All district employees will be getting some type of raise, county Education Superintendent Tim Newman said after the board wrapped up its budget work.
“Teachers will receive a $3,000 increase,” Newman said. “That also includes school counselors, reading interventionists, math interventionists. … All of those instruction folks will receive $3,000. … For the rest of our employees, it is a 4 percent increase to whatever they’re currently being paid this year.”
Newman said he was pleased with the final budget plan. “I’m encouraged for our teachers and for our employees getting raises,” he said. “We tried to squeeze as much as we could out of it for our employees. That was the focus for us.”
