Census drop costs Orangeburg County; S.C. gives cash to offset losses

But the state has also put in place a new program to offset some losses in slow-growing, more rural counties like Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.

Orangeburg County’s population dropped 8.9% over the past 10 years, according to the U.S. Census. It had 92,501 people in 2010 and 84,223 in 2020.

According to the S.C. Association of Counties, Orangeburg County will receive $738,561 less from the state’s Local Government Fund this year as a result. The Local Government Fund provides money to counties based on their share of the state population.

This is the most money lost by any of the state’s 46 counties, according to the SCAC.

Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said the county is used to reductions in the state’s Local Government Fund. He said the state has not fully funded the fund according to its statutory formula in years.

“When we have issues like that, we look at it and adjust,” Young said. “We make cuts and adapt to it.”

“At the end of the day, it will be a loss of revenue,” Young said.

“All we can do is cut budgets and find additional grants to make up the difference.”

Young said the county will continue to strive to avoid tax increases, if possible. For example, the county did not receive the money it is due from the fund this year. He noted taxes were not raised.

Anticipating the reduction in Local Government Fund allocations to small, rural counties, this year the South Carolina General Assembly budgeted $17.92 million in “full funding” for the Local Government Fund and $10 million for a newly created Rural County Stabilization Fund.

Under Rural County Stabilization Fund provisions, any county that has a population growth, as determined by the 2020 Census, of less than 5.35% since the 2010 Census is eligible to receive money from the fund. About 28 of the state’s 46 counties qualify for the money.

Orangeburg County will receive $430,107 this fiscal year, helping to offset the $738,561 loss. This means the county, however, will still receive about $308,453 less than it has received in recent years.

“Treasury Management is working to distribute these funds by the beginning of next month,” S.C. Treasurer’s Office Communications Director Karen Ingram said in October. “The funding is a one-time allotment. The legislature will have to renew the proviso for it to go beyond that.”

This means unless the state’s General Assembly renews the Rural County Stabilization Fund proviso in future years, Orangeburg County could stand to see $738,561 less each year for the next decade.

Young said the Rural County Stabilization Fund will save the county over a mill and a half of taxes and help limit any budgetary cuts.

He questions the census numbers.

“I disagree with how the census was handled,” he said. “It was rushed at the end during the height of the pandemic.”

Young said many people were wary of engaging with the public, including census workers.

“Door to door was not proper at that moment,” he said. “I don’t think the county, in my opinion, lost those people.”

Young noted Orangeburg is dealing with a housing shortage. Several new subdivisions are currently being built in the area.

Young also said the college campuses were shuttered during the pandemic and professors who normally would live in Orangeburg were teaching from home.

“Many counties were surprised by the shifts in population that occurred since the 2010 Census and how these changes would impact their funding streams,” S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis said. “I am grateful that our General Assembly adopted this proviso to help lessen the financial impact these rural communities are faced with because of the 2020 Census results.”

Bamberg and Calhoun counties will also see less money from the Local Government Fund this fiscal year, but the counties also qualify for Rural County Stabilization Fund money this year.

Unlike Orangeburg County, the Rural County Stabilization Fund will help both Calhoun and Bamberg to more than recoup the shortfall in Local Government Funding, at least this year,

Bamberg County’s population dropped from 15,987 in 2010 to 13,311 in 2020, a 16.7% decline.

The county will see $178,014 less in Local Government Fund money this year, but the county will receive $322,580 from the rural county stabilization fund.

Should the proviso not be renewed, Bamberg County would see $178,014 less annually for the next decade.

Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston says the county constantly deals with revenue fluctuations year-to-year, whether it is dealing with local, state or federal sources.

“The actual results of the census are out of our hands and not within the confines of county control,” Preston said. “What we must do is to be ready to continue to provide necessary county functions.”

“To do that, we continue to do what we have been doing for the past nine years, and that is to prudently manage the resources that the county does have available, and to plan ahead as much as possible,” he said.

Preston says the pandemic has “taught us all that even good plans can be challenged in unprecedented times.”

“We keep our shoulders to the harness, do the best work that we possibly can, and to recognize that we have to ride the waves of uncertainty by being good managers and prudent stewards of the assets and resources that we, as public servants, are entrusted with,” Preston said.

Preston expressed his appreciation for the Rural County Stabilization Fund.

“I believe that our state leadership recognizes the struggles that are unique to small counties such as Bamberg,” Preston said. “While we should not look to the state to solve all of our problems, I do think it is fair to expect some type of additional financial support in light of the potential negative impact, to small and rural counties, as a result of the census.”

Calhoun County’s population declined 7%. It had 15,175 people in 2010 and 14,119 in 2020. The county will see $108,947 less from the Local Government Fund this year.

Calhoun County will also receive $322,580 from the Rural County Stabilization Fund, meaning the county will more than offset the reduction in the Local Government Fund money by $213,633.

Should the proviso not be renewed, Calhoun County would see $108,947 less annually.

Calhoun County Administrator John McLauchlin could not be reached for comment.