Beaufort County has spent the last year or more responding to scrutiny and legal actions regarding how taxpayer money is being managed. From county credit card purchases for out of state trips, to luxury cars, to playground equipment and weighted blankets, there has been no shortage of questions about how the county spends their money. Only slightly less scrutiny has been placed on the county and county council about transparency and communication. Keeping watch over the county’s finances and spending is the purpose of the County’s Finance Committee.
The County’s Finance Administration and Economic Development Committee meets each month with the mission: “The Finance Committee evaluates the County’s current and future financial position, including the deliberation and recommendation of annual budgets to ensure sound financial decisions. This committee also coordinates Council’s involvement with financial reporting and procedures and pursues the development of long-range (multi-year) budgets.”
During the September and October 2024 Finance Committee meetings, there were more than $85M worth of expenditures discussed. The agenda packet given to committee members and published to the public a few days before the September meeting is 279 pages, for October it was 122 pages. Included in the October meeting discussions, amending the current county budget to add just over $7.5M. That equates to increasing the overall county budget by 4.8%. In the September meeting, purchasing just under $7M worth of land in northern Beaufort County for the creation of industrial parks. Also in September, the committee was presented with a presentation from First Tryon Advisors to borrow $70M for capital projects (p.53). These are only a few of the financial transactions the Finance Committee discussed in the last two months.
During these two meetings, no one made any public comments, the Finance Committee asked few questions of the presenters, and engaged in minimal discussion. The committee approved each one of the county personnel’s recommendations.
Future articles will dive deeper into the Finance Committee and the county’s financial decision making. The next meeting of the Finance Committee is Monday, November 25 at 3pm in County Council Chambers.
