Fairfield County $1.5 Million Budget Adjustment Statement
Fairfield County $1.5 Million Budget Adjustment
Winnsboro, SC— December 13, 2023 — At the December 11th Fairfield County Council meeting it was misstated that over $800,000 was missing from the County’s budget. This information is not correct. Fairfield County Council passed Ordinance No 788 on February 14, 2022 appropriating $500,000 toward the construction of a new speculative building. On December 12, 2022, Fairfield County Council passed Ordinance 804 appropriating $695,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the Old Castle building and $322,000 from the proceeds of the sale of medical facilities toward the cost of construction for a new speculative building. The two ordinances totaled $1,517,000.
The ordinances referenced one specific capital budget fund for the appropriations. However, the transfers were not conducted at the time the ordinances were passed. In 2023, the Finance Department began the process of transferring the funds listed in Ordinance 788 and 804. At that time, it was discovered there was a zero balance in the funds referenced. A subsequent investigation revealed that part of the money was used to support another capital project and rest of the funding was added to the County’s general fund. Therefore, the funding is not missing, but instead was either transferred out for another project or not deposited into the accounts referenced in the original ordinances.
Upon this discovery, Fairfield County Administration recommended Resolution No. 2023-07, appropriating the transfer of $1,517,000 from Fairfield County’s general fund towards the cost of the speculative building. County Council had previously approved the use of the funds towards the speculative building. Resolution No. 2023-07 continues with Council’s prior authorization.
To avoid this happening in the future, all budget appropriations approved by Fairfield County Council will be immediately acted upon by the Finance Department.
