County: State Cuts Will Equal Mandate Cuts

Addressing the Dorchester County legislative delegation Tuesday, Dorchester County Council Chair Larry Hargett said that, for the percentage the state cuts the county's funding, state-mandated funding of programs through the county will be cut in-kind. 

"Dorchester County supports financially in many ways some 30 different state-mandated funding programs," Hargett said to Sen. Mike Rose, Sen. Larry Grooms, Rep. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jenny Horne.

"In fiscal year 2012, we will reduce our support to state-mandated programs up to the same amount of reduction."

See Dorchester County's PowerPoint presentation to the delegation given earlier this year.

According to Hargett, the state cut funding to the county by 22 percent in fiscal year 2011. State agencies facing in-kind cuts include County Coroner, Circuit Court, Family Court, Magistrates, Juvenile Justice, Voter Registration, Emergency Management, Public Defender, County Solicitor, and Veterans' Affairs.

Hargett painted a stark picture. 

"It is in essence that or a tax increase ... we would have to raise millage if we don't get it from the state," he said.

By doing this, the county is invoking a new proviso, supported by Rose, that allows counties the right to cut state-mandating programs as state funds decrease. 

"It is very appropriate if the state government is going to reduce … to allow county governments to reduce funding to those mandates," Rose told Hargett during the brief exchange. No other legislators spoke on the issue. 

According to S.C. Association of Counties, Dorchester County was formulated to receive $5.7 million last year but only received $4.4 million to its local government fund, despite increases to major expense items like employer contribution rate increase for the State Retirement System and Police Officers Retirement System and State Health Insurance Plan premiums increase. Another source of expenses is medical costs for inmates at county jails, according to the organization.