Councilwoman Wilhelmina Johnson requested that a 5 percent pay increase for members be included in the proposed general fund budget for the coming year. Council is expected to give first reading to a budget ordinance Monday that includes a proposed 1.64-mill increase in property taxes. A proposed library fund budget and a proposed budget for the Hartsville Fire District also include proposed millage increases of 0.09 and 0.25 mills respectively. Those budgets also will be presented for first reading Monday, along with other special fund budgets that are unchanged, as well as an environmental services budget that reduces the fees charged to county citizens for disposing of tires at the county's recycling centers and landfill.
First reading is a procedural step by which an ordinance is presented to council.
No vote is taken on ordinances up for first reading. But council is being asked to consider including the 5 percent pay raise in the budget Monday. If council agrees, the raise would have to be enacted through a separate ordinance, which would require three readings. Also on Monday, council is expected to give final approval to an ordinance adopting the international building and related codes in place of the county's existing codes. Local governments throughout the state are being required to adopt the international codes.