Bamberg County Council has passed its $25.9 million spending plan for 2024-2025, but continues to field questions about transparency during the budgeting process. Bamberg resident Ken Ahlin told council during last week’s meeting that it’s a travesty members of the public can only speak for three minutes during meetings.
Also, he said the county should provide more detail in its budget. “It had no department-by-department or agency funding expenditure breakdowns. The actual budget would typically be in dozens and dozens of single-space pages.
No, I’m not an accountant, not at all, but I do know how to balance a checkbook,” he said. He said the county’s response to his request for more information on the Bamberg Facilities Corporation also lacked substance. The BFC is a nonprofit charged with managing the county’s $8.
4 million in installment purchase revenue bonds, which were authorized by council in part to consolidate old debt. “It lacks the granularity of where the money is flowing in the associated account,” he said. Ahlin also asked for the names of the “three people” in the finance office who were tasked with formulating the budget.
“We’ll take your comments under advisement, and we’ll do what we think is appropriate,” Board Chairman Evert Comer Jr. said. At the end of the meeting, Councilwoman Sharon Hammond reiterated her ongoing concern about what she considers the budget’s lack of detail.
“I have a problem with the budget when I can�.