Charleston could soon raise hourly parking rates for non-residents and set aside $1 million for pedestrian safety improvements as the city works to balance its upcoming spending plan.
The draft of the 2027 budget will be presented to City Council during a Nov. 9 workshop. While the city expects to balance the budget, rising costs leave little room to adjust employee compensation or fund new public safety programs.
The city faces mounting expenses for health care, insurance, fuel, rent, utilities, and debt service on capital projects. Amy Wharton, the city’s chief financial officer, noted that Charleston also needs to fund a tidal and inland flooding survey and bring staff salaries closer to levels recommended by a recent compensation study.
Those uncontrollable expenses are “a sock in the gut,” Mayor William Cogswell said during a Nov. 4 committee meeting.
These financial pressures leave the city with a projected surplus of only about $1.5 million. That money must address the critical needs of staff compensation and a portion of the $28 million requested by departments for new programs. Departments “are not getting a lot for Christmas this year,” Cogswell said during the meeting.
Property taxes are not slated to increase, meaning higher parking meter rates could serve as a way to generate extra revenue. City officials discussed keeping the rate at $3 an hour for city residents while raising the price for everyone else to $4 an hour during the Nov. 4 budget committee meeting.
Specifics on how or when a tiered parking rate might take effect remain undecided. “We don’t have that fully fleshed out yet,” Cogswell said.
Wharton estimated that the parking rate increase could generate approximately $4.5 million in additional revenue.
Pedestrian safety improvements top the list for potential funding, alongside a pothole repair crew, an urban forestry crew, additional police officers, and fire department initiatives. Allocating $1 million specifically for pedestrian safety responds directly to requests from residents following recent collisions on the peninsula.
Initially, the city planned to match a federal grant with $1 million for these safety measures. After learning in late October that the grant was not awarded, Charleston officials decided to fund the safety enhancements independently.
Project selections will rely on crash data and the city’s Safety Action Plan. Following the Nov. 9 council workshop, the recommended budget goes before City Council on Nov. 17, with a first reading scheduled for Dec. 1.
