LEXINGTON, S.C. — As local governments near the end of their budgets for 2024, local leaders are starting to look at what comes next, including those in the Town of Lexington.
On Monday evening, the Town of Lexington Council adjusted the 2024 budget and used a work session to discuss what taxpayers can expect from the next budget in 2025.
The mayor and town council called a special meeting to be able to make some changes to the current budget before transitioning to the next budget on July 1.
Stuart Ford the Assistant Town Administrator explained what the council was voting to fix in the budget.
“A lot around technology related to transparency and a lot around Freedom of Information Act compliance...and a number of items that were critical, for example, replacing a generator," Ford explained.
Following the short budget amendment meeting, the town council held a work session to begin plans for next year’s budget.
Mayor Hazel Livingston was thrilled to share her favorite part about the 2025 budget.
“We've been able to do all of the quality of life and traffic projects, and we have not had to raise their property tax at all. We have not raised property taxes in the last 30 years," Livingston said.
Although taxes will not go up water and sewer rates will be about 3.5% percent.
Overall the town’s budget for the upcoming year is roughly $55 million.
As of now, the proposed budget has 48% of funds going to the town’s police department, 20% going to parks and sanitation, 23% for general government expenses, and 9% going toward transportation. The majority of revenue for the 2025 budget is coming from business licenses.
In 2024, the budget was a bit larger at roughly $56 million. Most of the spending in 2024 went toward Public Works and Public Safety. In the budget for this year, the town invested about a million dollars in tourism and is proposing to spend a bit more in 2025.
The budget for 2025 has not gone to the first reading in front of a full council meeting yet but will be brought up for the first time in a Town Council meeting on Monday, May 6.