Dorchester County adopts balanced fiscal year 2025-2026

Budget to Support County Public Safety, Education, and Infrastructure

Budget Adopted with No Property Tax Increase for County Operations

Dorchester County Council approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-2026 Budget of $295,200,395, with a General Fund budget of $97,253,900, with no increase in property taxes for County operations, effective July 1, 2025.  The budgeted expenditures for all County funds for FY 2025-2026 are $295,200,395, an increase of $18,442,212 from FY 2024-2025, due to personnel expenditures, funded capital improvement projects and capital management projects, Fire Fund expenditures, and increased funding for impact fee projects.

“The Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget showcases the County’s dedication to fiscal stewardship and support of the County’s public safety, education, quality of life, and infrastructure,” said Dorchester County Council Chairman David Chinnis. “Our Council continues to prioritize our community’s needs for today and the years to come.”

Highlights of the General Fund include:

• Maintaining County operations and services for the community.
• Sustaining quality public safety services through law enforcement, emergency medical services, emergency management, and consolidated dispatch.
• Promoting employee retention with additional staff to handle the increase in day-to-day demands. Some of these positions include a Community Paramedic to increase access to public health, a Recreation and Program Coordinator for additional parks programming support, and a Communication Technician for additional 9-1-1 Consolidated Dispatch support.

The County continues to support local school districts through the school district millage, which is levied on taxable property in the County assessed for educational purposes. The FY 2025-2026 budget will support a 7.6 mill increase for Dorchester District 2 and a 6.6 mill increase for Dorchester District 4; and continued financial support for the Dorchester County Career and Technology Center.

The Capital Improvements Fund budget, which covers the cost of equipment and buildings with a useful life of more than one year, totals $8,328,202. This fund is primarily supported by a 6.1 mill tax levy for capital improvements.

Highlights of the Capital Improvements Fund include:

• Improving County roads, sidewalks, and parking lots, such as the paving of Maple Street, the widening of US Highway 17-A, the realignment of Stallsville Loop to Old Trolley Road at the Miles Jamison Road intersection, and the widening of US Highway 78.
• Providing new shade structures for the playground and ballfield bleachers at Davis-Bailey Park.
• Enhancing library services by replacing Summerville Branch Library with a 23,000-square-foot building near downtown Summerville.

The Fire Fund budget, which funds 18 stations in the unincorporated areas of the County, totals $13,819,009, funded by a 21.2 mill levy.

Highlights of the Fire Fund include:

• Providing a second set of turnout gear for all full-time firefighters to further protect their health and comfort.
• One new fire engine to enhance emergency response capabilities.
• One new apparatus pumper/tanker to support high-capacity fire suppression.

The Water and Sewer Fund budget, which supports the Water and Sewer Department’s operations, maintenance costs and debt service related to water and sewer construction, totals $49,662,215.

Highlighted projects budgeted from this fund include:

• Maple Street Improvements
• Force Main on Dorchester Road
• Highway 78 Phase 3 Sewer Relocation
• Poplar Grove Force Main
• Pump Station Rehabilitations
• Winterseat Pump Station and Force Main

The County’s full budget, including the Debt Service Fund and Enterprise Funds, are detailed on the County’s website here.