Peach Capitol…Out of Capital
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Peach Capitol...Out of Capital
Towns across the country are reaching into back-up budgets to try to make ends meet during these hard times. But, what happens when your rainy day fund is completely dried up? The town of Johnston,...
Towns across the country are reaching into back-up budgets to try to make ends meet during these hard times. But, what happens when your rainy day fund is completely dried up? The town of Johnston, South Carolina is finding out the hard way. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe has the story.
Edgefield County, SC—Johnston claims to be the ‘Peach Capitol of the World. While the peaches might be plentiful here, right now, the capital is not.
Mayor Willie Campbell, Johnston, SC: “This year is worse than it ever has been.“
Johnston City Council members just approved the first reading of their budget…and the news was grim. They are $100,000 short, and town leaders say they are scraping to find money just to keep basic operations going.
Keith Coones, Town Administrator: “We’ve been forced to make cuts that were drastic and very painful, and been forced to reduce the contingency fund to virtually nothing, which is an extremely risky proposition.“
Mayor Campbell: “It should actually be $90,000, as opposed to $159.“
City Council leaders are looking at a 2.9 millage increase, which would mean an extra $8 of taxes on a $50,000 home, or $15 on a $100,000 house. In addition to that, leaders want to add a 2% hospitality tax. But, even doing that, the Mayor says, would only bring in an extra $40,000….they are still short.
There is no travel budget. Council members have waived their salaries. The town needs money to keep garbage trucks rolling. It needs new police cars, especially at a time when the Mayor says he’s seen crime in his town increase at an alarming rate. With no back-up money, leaders say the next cuts, will have to be jobs.
Joy Howe, reporting: “So if you have an emergency, you’d have to cut somebody to pay for that emergency?“
Coones: “That’s right.“
Mayor Campbell: “When I think in terms of, when I began to lay off in the Police Department, with the increase in crime activity, then what’s going to take place?“
Leaders say all they can do for now, is hold on, and hope next year will produce a better crop of numbers for Johnston’s budget. The Town Administrator says he is looking at grants for the town, especially for those police cars. The trouble he’s been running into, is many grants require the town to match funds, and he says, they simply don’t have the money to do that.
Johnston leaders say if they can’t find more money, this summer, they’ll have to consider another tax increase in the fall.
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