# City of Charleston Ad Hoc Budget Committee 11/04/26

The City of Charleston Ad Hoc Budget Committee met November 4, 2026, to review the draft municipal budget. Staff said a projected $4.5 million base-budget shortfall was addressed through updated building-permit and plan-review fee revenue estimates, $7.5 million in projected salary savings, and use of assigned general-fund reserves for a one-time flood study. The revised base budget showed a $2.9 million surplus; after recommended new programs, the projected surplus was $1.5 million. Departments had requested about $25 million for new programs, of which roughly $5.6 million was recommended, including fire decontamination equipment and mobile training, police traffic and school-resource staffing, an urban forestry crew, and a pothole-repair crew. No contract awards or procurement votes were reported.

The committee discussed a potential parking-rate increase to $4 per hour, projected to generate about $4.55 million annually and already accounting for a resident discount that is still being developed; members also raised an annual parking-pass option. Additional revenue could help fund employee cost-of-living and compensation-study adjustments, with roughly $6 million under discussion for those purposes, though the final allocation was not settled. The draft budget, including the parking proposal, was to be presented at a full-council workshop and submitted to City Council by November 17; no vote was taken by the committee. Staff also reported that rating agencies maintained Moody’s AAA rating and an AA1 rating for installment-purchase revenue bonds, which officials said supports lower borrowing costs for the City’s bond-funded capital projects.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Public Safety
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** November 04, 2026

### Sources
- [City of Charleston Ad Hoc Budget Committee 11/04/26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyIu-hgT1UI) - City of Charleston SC