Hampton County Council approves FY2027 budget after adding benefits for three senior‑center directors

Hampton County Council approved the fiscal‑year 2027 budget ordinance on third reading on June 22, 2026, after amending the plan to convert three Council on Aging site directors to full‑time status and provide them health benefits. The council recorded one abstention by Councilman Jinks.

The vote followed a public hearing and extended council debate over line‑item transparency and several apparent accounting anomalies. At the public hearing resident Mary Benton of Brunson told the council she had “looked and looked at this budget” and raised multiple concerns: a $58,843 unexplained entry in the countywide general fund, a missing debt‑service line in the 2027 packet, discrepancies between airport revenues and the airport enterprise budget, and large vendor payments shown in the accounts‑payable register she could not reconcile with the budget. “Every penny counts,” Benton said, urging that the ordinance and departmental budgets be posted in an easy‑to‑find location online.

Chief Deputy Coroner Preston Altman also addressed the council about an apparent accounts‑payable posting that listed a $4,705.54 tire purchase under the coroner’s office. Altman said finance told him the line had been posted incorrectly and sought clarification to avoid public misperception: “If we spend $4,705 for one tire for the coroner, that’s a definite accounting error,” he said.

During deliberations councilors pressed county staff on salaries, contractual services and vendor payments. Finance staff explained that some large capital payments are pass‑through grant funds that appear as both revenue and expenditure and described recent reconciliations. Council members asked for clearer packet documentation; staff said some figures visible in the public record had reflected the second‑reading packet, whereas the third‑reading ordinance before the council included corrected figures.

A central line of debate concerned the Council on Aging, which operates three senior centers with site directors scheduled under 30 hours per week and therefore without county insurance. Councilman Thompson (who initiated the amendment) urged the council to make the three directors full‑time so they would receive benefits, citing the program’s daily staffing needs and the directors’ responsibilities. Councilors and staff discussed the estimated cost of the change; the council characterized the additional cost as roughly $19,000–$20,000 for the year and said that contingency and reallocation across county‑wide categories could cover it without breaking budget balance. After discussion a motion to amend the ordinance to make the three directors full‑time with benefits was made, seconded and included in the adopted FY2027 ordinance.

The council concluded the item by approving the amended budget on third reading; the transcript records Councilman Jinks abstaining “due to lack of information.” No precise tally of yes votes was recorded on the public audio/transcript beyond that abstention.

Votes at a glance: The council also voted on several other items during the meeting. It adopted a county credit‑card policy establishing authorized uses, documentation and audit controls; it approved the second reading of an updated flood damage prevention ordinance based on FEMA template language; and it approved the first reading by title only of an ordinance to authorize a tax‑anticipation note for summer cash needs. Staff said the TAN amount would be finalized in later readings.

What happens next: Staff said they will post corrected budget documents and department budgets in response to public concerns and will return future ordinance readings with more detailed figures where required (for example, final TAN amounts). The administration also said it will continue reconciling the accounts‑payable register and provide clarifications about capital pass‑through entries.