About
Adam Beam covers the City of Columbia for The State newspaper. Here, he blogs about local government. Reach him at (803) 386-7038 or abeam@thestate.com
Tag Archives: 2009-10 budget
The liquor rebate fund?
Columbia doesn’t have much money at the moment. South Carolina’s capital city has had to lay off employees and buy out others, and even reduce some staffing at some fire stations in order to make ends meet. So city officials have to get creative to find money. That’s where the liquor rebate fund comes in. [...]
Round 2 of Columbia layoffs could come in September
Columbia employees will be closely watching the city’s July and August revenue and expense reports. If the news is bad, Interim City Manager Steve Gantt said there will be another round of layoffs. If things don’t improve by December, that’s when council members will be seriously considering an across the board salary cut — an [...]
Posted in Columbia city government Also tagged budget cuts, columbia employees, Steve Gantt Leave a comment
Decoding the City Council agenda
Columbia City Council meets tomorrow at 9 a.m., and they have a lot on the agenda: 1. Ordinance No. 2009-030. This approves the 2009-10 budget. It is a formality. Council members have to approve the budget twice for it to go into effect. They approved it once last week. Because of that, council members cannot [...]
Posted in Columbia city government Also tagged annexation, Bud Addison, Canal Front, E.W. Cromartie, EdVenture, SCE&G, Steve Gantt, Tameika Isaac Devine, Webster Rogers Leave a comment
Comparing Columbia's budget
Columbia’s 2009-10 budget for next year includes some good things: No tax increases No water and sewer rate increases No fee increases And some bad things: layoffs holiday pay cuts for firefighters, police officers and other shift workers Increased employee insurance premiums Elimination of garbage pick-up from Dumpster-like containers Reduced staffing at two fire stations [...]
A closer look at the city’s surplus