Lancaster County Newsletter
This month’s focus: Budget • Voting • Leadership • Roads • County Priorities
📬 May 2026
Lancaster County Update:
💵2026 Budget Season Is Here
Lancaster County entered the FY2027 budget cycle in early April. The May 21 special meeting is the next major public presentation of the Administrator’s recommended budget — but it is not the final budget. Council will now review it over several meetings, hear public input, and make changes before anything is adopted.
My overall goal remains the same: keep county property tax dollars flat to citizens while still addressing the county’s biggest operational and capital needs.
The Administrator’s presentation laid out one balanced scenario, but Council will now work through the numbers and priorities.
📅 Key Budget Dates to Watch
If you want to follow the process, these are the most important meetings:
May 26 – 1st reading of the Budget Ordinance, Fee Schedule, and Capital Improvement Program public hearing and ordinance reading
June 8 – 2nd reading of the Budget Ordinance, Budget Public Hearing, and CIP ordinances
June 10 – Special Council Meeting to continue discussion on the FY27 operating budget
June 22 – 3rd reading and final adoption of the budget and CIP ordinances
🔍 How to Review the Budget
The best place to start is the May 21 special meeting presentation packet and the four exhibits that go with it:
Exhibit A – New position requests
Exhibit B – New non-personnel requests
Exhibit C – Fund balance appropriations
Exhibit D – Fire apparatus replacement list
As future agenda packets are published for the May 26, June 8, June 10, and June 22 meetings, those will be the best documents to review because they will reflect changes being discussed by Council.
🗣️ How to Voice Your Opinion
If you want to weigh in, you can:
- Attend the public hearings in person
- Watch the meetings live or by replay
- Submit electronic public comments
- Reply back to this email
This is the time of year when public input matters the most, because this is when priorities turn into actual dollars.
Very Simple Budget Recap
To balance the recurring General Fund budget as recommended by county administrator, the county needs projected recurring revenue to equal the projected recurring expenses of $113 million.
Under the presentation’s scenarios:
- At the current millage rate, the county would be about $7.1 million short.
- At an inflationary millage increase, the county would still be about $2.4 million short.
- At the recommended 87.50 millage rate, the recurring General Fund budget would be balanced.
The presentation also shows about $36.3 million in recommended one-time fund balance appropriations, which would still leave an estimated $33.97 million in unassigned general fund balance. Staff notes that remaining amount would still fall within the county’s targeted reserve range.
That is the administration’s starting framework — but again, Council will make changes.
🚑 Big Item: EMS Schedule Change
One of the biggest recurring items in the proposed budget is the EMS schedule change from 24/48 to 24/72. (24 hours on with 48 hours off)
The recommendation includes:
- 5 paramedics for the schedule change — $561,730
- 4 EMTs for the schedule change — $347,762
That is a combined recommended cost of roughly $909,000.
The budget also includes:
- 5 paramedics for the proposed EMS/Fire partnership — $534,974
- 1 paramedic instructor — $116,775
This is clearly one of the administration’s major operational priorities for FY27. The primary driver is that surrounding counties have shifted to this schedule and retention is an issue.
🚒 Big Item: Fire Infrastructure and Apparatus
The largest one-time recommendation in the packet is for Fire Services: $18.75 million from fund balance (reserve funds) for fire apparatus, including trucks, tankers, and engines.
Exhibit D helps explain why this is such a large number. The replacement list includes many aging units, including:
- A 1994 Chevrolet Squad
- Multiple 1998 tankers
- 2004 and 2007 engines
- A 1985 Hazmat vehicle
Put simply: fire infrastructure is a major budget focus this year, and not just for staffing. A big part of the conversation is replacing old frontline equipment before it becomes a bigger operational problem. A big discussion point will be funding the station on Harrisburg Rd (northern section of Indian Land)
Other Major Budget Items
A few other big-ticket items in the recommended budget include:
- $4.0 million for a new Development Services building
- $2.95 million for Public Safety Communications, including radio consoles, generator replacement, and Fire Dispatch CAD integration
- $2.04 million for Economic Development site prep for a spec building
- $1.38 million for Road Maintenance equipment, paving, drainage, and transportation planning
- $1.05 million for Sheriff’s Office vehicles
- $1.53 million for Recreation improvements and buses
On the recurring operating side, major increases include:
- Road Maintenance contract services up by about $351,609
- Solid Waste Collections up by $400,000
- Sheriff’s Office contract services up by $350,202
Final Budget Note
This is the point in the year where broad county priorities start turning into actual funding decisions.
The Administrator’s budget gives us the first draft. Council now has to decide what stays, what changes, what gets delayed, and how to do that while protecting taxpayers and still addressing real needs.
🗳️ South Carolina Primary Races: Do Your Research and Vote
Primary season is here, and there are several important races in focus for Lancaster County and across South Carolina. Early voting starts May 26th with election day on June 9th.
The best place to start is your official sample ballot, which shows exactly what is on your ballot based on where you live:
🔗 Click here to view your sample ballot
For Lancaster County readers, one local race drawing attention is the House District 44 Republican primary between incumbent - Mike Neese and challenger - Tripp Mccoy
Statewide, the governor’s race is one of the most closely watched contests, with a crowded Republican field that has include Pamela Evette, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, Josh Kimbrell and Alan Wilson.
Another statewide race getting attention is Commissioner of Agriculture. That race is open because Hugh Weathers is retiring, and multiple Republican candidates have filed.
My overall goal with sharing this is simple: please do your research and exercise your right to vote. Start with your sample ballot, read up on the candidates, and make a plan to participate.
If you would like to work the election precincts, check out link to apply.
🗳️ Republican Primary Advisory Questions
If you pull a Republican sample primary ballot, you may also see two advisory questions. These questions do not directly change the law. They are meant to gauge how voters feel about certain issues.
1. Party Registration
Question:
Should people have the right to register with the political party of their choice when they register to vote?
In simple terms:
This question is about whether South Carolina should move toward a system where voters formally register with a political party.
Why it matters:
It points toward the larger debate over whether South Carolina should move away from its current open-primary system.
2. School Board Elections
Question:
Should candidates for local school boards be able to run as a candidate of the political party of their choice, just like candidates of other political offices?
In simple terms:
This question is about whether local school board races should remain nonpartisan or allow candidates to run with a party label.
Why it matters:
It gets at whether school board races should remain nonpartisan or become more openly partisan. Leaving them blank does not prevent the rest of the ballot from counting.
👤 New County Administrator: Brian Tucker
Lancaster County Council has selected Brian Tucker as the next Lancaster County Administrator. Tucker is a Lancaster native and is currently serving as Assistant City Manager for the City of Myrtle Beach. He is scheduled to begin his new role with Lancaster County on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Tucker brings a mix of local roots, county experience, economic development work, and large municipal management experience.
In Myrtle Beach, his senior management responsibilities included departments such as construction services, public works, planning and zoning, and the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. News reports also noted his involvement in major downtown redevelopment efforts, including the Arts and Innovation District and East of Kings redevelopment.
Before joining Myrtle Beach, Tucker served as Director of Economic Development for Georgetown County for nearly seven years. He also previously served in leadership roles with the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, and earlier in his career worked in real estate and banking.
This background is important for Lancaster County because our county is working through major issues related to growth, infrastructure, planning, public safety, and long-term financial priorities.
Tucker said he is “excited and humbled” to serve as Lancaster County Administrator and described returning home to serve family and friends as “overwhelmingly surreal.” He also noted that Lancaster County is made up of many distinct communities and said maintaining the warmth and character of those communities while managing growth is an important opportunity. Check out link for news story.
🛣️ Roads
I continue to receive a lot of questions about what can be done to improve roads in Lancaster County.
Many of the major roads and transportation decisions are controlled at the state level, so I strongly encourage residents to reach out to their State House and Senate representatives to advocate for Lancaster County.
A great tool to find your state representative and senator’s contact information is the South Carolina Legislature’s search page:
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php
Lancaster County needs a stronger voice within SCDOT and continued reform in how road projects are prioritized, funded, and completed.
County Council can keep pushing locally, but meaningful progress will also require state-level attention and support.
If you missed earlier newsletter editions, click here to see all the previous months. Great way to share it with your friends and neighbors via email or social media.
👥 If you're part of a group that would be interested in having me attend a meeting to discuss county matters, don’t hesitate to reach out—I’m always happy to connect.
If you have any questions or concerns about the county, feel free to reach out: 803-804-6017 or simply reply to this email.
Thank you for your continued engagement and support.
I’m grateful to serve the county I grew up in and love—and I’m always open to your questions, ideas, and concerns.
Best,
Stuart
PS- If you find value and want to share this newsletter with your neighbors. You can use this link!!