County Approves 2012 Budget

No new taxes but there will be fewer public works and no new hires slated for fiscal year 2012 in Dorchester County.

After months of toiling, the 2012 budget for Dorchester County was approved June 20 during a regular meeting of county council.

The vote was 6-0, with one member of the council absent.

"We've got several projects, like an EMS facility ... that we will not be able to build this year," council Chairman Larry Hargett said. "We will just have to make do with what we got."

That also meant for the county to "live within its means" since "it's not a good time to raise taxes," Hargett added.

While property values have increased in the county over the last year, the county has seen a loss in revenue overall due to the decline in businesses, according to Hargett.

The decision not to raise taxes is likely a temporary measure due to need of facilities.

One of those facilities struggling with the delay in funding set for this year is the county jail in St. George.

Well beyond maxed-out, sometimes three men are locked in a one-man cell, according to Hargett. But a new jail would likely cost the county about $30 million.

"We don't have that kind of money," Hargett said. "When we build a jail, we will have to have a tax increase; there is no way around it."

The Dorchester County jail houses offenders from the county, towns of Summerville, Harleyville, St. George and Ridgeville, and city of North Charleston.

However, not all new projects have been halted at the county level. Last month, a new, 48,000-square-foot courthouse was dedicated in St. George at the tune of $12 million. A supplementary $2.5 million fire station is next to it.

"We are building things; we're just not building things at the rate we need to build them," Hargett said.

The only hiring the county will do this year is replacing staff.