Council reviews Palmetto Breeze funding request, fire department spending, police salary concerns during first workshop
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Port Royal Town Council kicked off its fiscal year 2027 budget discussions May 6 with a workshop focused largely on public safety spending and growing concerns over how regional public transportation will be funded moving forward.
The discussions come as Port Royal officials continue grappling with a significant revenue loss tied to a tax exemption claimed earlier this year by The Preserve at Port Royal apartment complex that town leaders have said created a major unexpected shortfall in the town’s budget.
Against that backdrop, council opened the first of three planned budget workshops with a presentation from the Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority, better known as Palmetto Breeze, regarding new transit funding demands tied to Beaufort County’s changing federal designation from a rural transit area to an urbanized one.
Kristine Hepburn, finance director for Palmetto Breeze and the agency’s former executive director, explained that following the 2020 Census, portions of northern Beaufort County, including Port Royal and Beaufort, are now classified as urbanized areas for federal transit funding purposes.
That shift means municipalities are now being asked to contribute directly toward federal grant match requirements that were previously handled differently under rural funding formulas.
Under the proposal presented May 6, Port Royal is being asked to contribute $113,236 total, including $84,734 for an FY2027 Federal Transit Administration grant and another $28,502 for a capital grant match.
Hepburn said Port Royal’s share is based on population percentages within the urbanized “north of the Broad” area, where the town accounts for 18.84% of the population share.
Several council members questioned whether Port Royal residents are effectively being asked to pay twice for public transit because town taxpayers already contribute county taxes that support countywide transportation funding.
“The challenge for us,” Mayor Kevin Phillips said during the discussion, “is that our people will pay that also because we’re Beaufort County taxpayers. So we’re getting taxed twice.”
Hepburn acknowledged the frustration and said communities across Beaufort County are struggling with how to fund growing transportation needs as the population continues to increase.
“I drive these roads,” Hepburn said. “Public transit could ease that, but not with just a drop in the bucket. You need park-and-ride lots. You need facilities. You need bus shelters, pull-offs.”
Council members and transit officials also discussed the challenges of operating buses safely along heavily traveled roads north of the Broad, where limited pull-offs and traffic congestion complicate route planning.
Hepburn said South Carolina remains one of the lowest-funded states in the country for public transit support.
“When they started giving money out in probably the late ’70s, there were seven systems,” Hepburn said. “We have 34 systems in the state of South Carolina, and they give $6 million.”
Fire department budget focuses on staffing, equipment
Council members later reviewed the proposed FY2027 fire department budget, which officials said was largely driven by salary adjustments and operational cost increases.
Fire officials said the department recently completed compensation adjustments aimed at making firefighter and paramedic salaries more competitive with neighboring agencies.
The proposed fire department budget totals roughly $8.07 million for FY2027, compared to a revised FY2026 budget of approximately $9.13 million.
Officials said much of the apparent decrease stems from how a new ladder truck purchase was budgeted last year rather than an actual reduction in spending.
The Port Royal portion of the ladder truck payment is expected to total $32,423 this fiscal year.
Fire officials also discussed ongoing efforts to renovate Fire Station 1 and potentially co-locate Beaufort County EMS services within the building, though officials said the city plans to move forward with repairs regardless of whether the county participates.
Another major topic involved the City of Beaufort’s contract with the Lady’s Island/St. Helena Fire District, which currently costs more than $500,000 annually to provide service to annexed city properties on Lady’s Island.
“We paid over half a million dollars this past year for them to respond to 349 calls,” officials said during the workshop while discussing possible renegotiation efforts.
Police department salary analysis highlights retention concerns
Council members also reviewed a Port Royal Police Department salary analysis showing the department currently trails neighboring agencies in pay competitiveness.
The comparison ranked Beaufort Police Department, Bluffton Police Department, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Hardeeville Police Department ahead of Port Royal in officer salaries.
Workshop materials warned the town faces an “immediate” retention risk, noting officers could potentially earn between $10,000 and $60,000 more annually by leaving for nearby agencies.
Officials said staffing challenges are compounded by the department’s smaller size, which can create scheduling difficulties and increase overtime demands when officers are absent.
Police leadership said investments approved during last year’s budget cycle, including upgraded equipment, additional training opportunities and education incentives, have already helped improve morale within the department.
Council members also discussed ongoing facility needs, including an estimated $50,000 in potential building repairs tied to flashing and roof-related issues at the department.
Additional budget workshops are expected later this month as council members continue reviewing departmental requests and work toward adoption of the town’s final FY2027 budget.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.