In less than an hour, Laurens County Council gave final approvals to $48.7 Million in spending for its operations fund and $5.999 Million for its fire fund in a called meeting Monday night.
Approvals were unanimous among the members attending following no comments at public hearings. Two citizens did use time during Public Comments to express interest in a proposed moratorium on open-space developments, for 6 months, within Laurens County - a public hearing on this ordinance is scheduled for July 14.
The moratorium is needed, the council has been told by county planners, to close some loopholes that developers have used to increase the housing density in their subdivisions.
Council, on a split vote, almost imposed the moratorium on Cambridge Farms, a proposed subdivision on the outskirts of Clinton, before recalling the motion after there were legal concerns. The subdivision is not far enough along on the County Planning Commission’s approval process to receive official approval for open-space designation.
Cambridge Farms, if it receives the necessary approvals, could be constructed on open land between Ingles and the Merrye Oaks subdivision, across from Westminster Presbyterian Church, on the Jacobs Highway/ Hwy 56. It faced extensive neighborhood opposition when it was in front of the Clinton Planning Commission for annexation and zoning.
The overall open-space development moratorium passed on a 4-1-1 vote. Council Member Arthur Philson Jr. voted “no” and Council Member Shirley Clark abstained from voting.
A majority of Council turned down an idea from Council Member Kemp Younts to enact a $5 fee on each registered vehicle in the county to create a $350,000/year fund to start the process of repairing and replacing defective bridges.
Younts said Laurens County has 13-14 closed bridges, mostly in his Northern Laurens County district, and nothing is being done about the safety hazards caused by these closed bridges “because we have to go to Columbia begging for money.”
The County already imposes a $25/registered vehicle fee going to repair roads, in addition to property taxes and other fees.
It was unclear if the county could actually impose a new fee — adding money its revenues — without starting over in the budgeting and public hearing process.
The FY 2025-26 County Budget is 10% higher than the FY 2024-25 Budget.
In the Fire Budget, that percentage change is 8.78%.
The effect on property taxes won’t be known until the Auditor sets the millage rate, but it is expected that the millage in dollars necessary for Laurens County’s FY 2025-2026 proposed budget is $19,959,951, or 64.15 mils.
The County Council spent 43 minutes and 39 seconds at its June 23 called meeting to approve the proposed budget and to advance the open-space development moratorium ordinance.
