At its regular County Council meeting on Monday, June 9, Beaufort County Council passed its third & final reading of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Ordinance.

Council approved the $199.2 million General Fund budget unanimously with one minor amendment. The budget was prepared with no mil-rate increase: it will remain at 59.5 for the third year in a row, while expanding services and investing in strategic goals as outlined by Beaufort County Council.

“I am delighted we were able to accomplish all of Council’s initiatives for FY2026, without an increase in millage to the tax payers. The increase in mil values helped us achieve this goal,” said Pinky Harriott, CFO.

"We are excited to be passing a balanced budget that is mil neutral yet enhances the quality services offered to our county’s citizens," said Alice Howard, Beaufort County Council Chair. "The strategic reallocations and restructurings included will allow Beaufort County to make significant progress on our facility repairs and maintenance, enable better use of our fund balance, and helps support our county’s most essential workers. I am grateful to our Administrator, our Chief Financial Officer, and all the County departments for their efforts to prepare this budget and bring it before Council for final approval by mid-June.”

The Key Budget Highlights for FY26 Include:

• General Fund Overview:
  • General Government – $70,768,136
  • Public Safety – $66,228,060
  • Public Works – $28,466,525
  • Public Health – $2,328,589
  • Public Welfare – $1,095,590
  • Culture and Recreation – $15,272,461
  • Transfers Out – $15,000,000 (for capital improvements)
• Personnel:
  • Addition of a fourth EMS Shift to reduce staff burnout and remain competitive with other agencies
  • An increase for BCSO, to help recruit & retain qualified law enforcement officers
  • Increased allocations for the Public Defender and the Solicitor’s Offices
  • Addition of 33 New Full-Time and 5 Part-Time Employee Positions
  • A flat rate cost of living adjustment for County Employees
• Capital Improvements:
  • Over $35M allocated to capital improvement projects and facility repairs
  • Facility Needs Assessment study will be completed
  • Prioritization of Key Infrastructure Projects
• Quality of Life:
  • Investing in additional Parks and Recreation facilities and programming
  • Solid Waste Enterprise Fund moved to General Fund to increase efficiency
  • Transitioned Fleet back out to a Proprietary Fund, to help provide services to other county-wide agencies

Beaufort County Administrator Michael Moore emphasized the FY2026’s alignment with Council’s stated goals, sharing, “At its Strategic Planning Retreat in February, County Council established several key issues, aiming to prioritize people, facilities, finances, and transparency. We are confident that this balanced budget is a key step to accomplishing these goals, and I am grateful to our budget staff for their hard work throughout this budget process.”

Learn More

The entire budget process documentation and presentations are available online. To watch a replay of this meeting or to watch all programming, BCTV can be found on cable channels Comcast - channel 2; Sparklight- channel 9 and 113; Spectrum - channel 1304. BCTV also streams live on Youtube, ROKU, and Amazon Fire.