Seneca City Council Advances $70 Million Budget Despite Split Vote Over Utility Rates

The Seneca City Council met last night, greenlighting final annexation and rezoning ordinances for the Seneca Falls subdivision developments and giving initial “In Title Only” approvals to a projected $70 million in total fiscal year 2027 spending for the new 12-month period starting July 1.

City Administrator Scott Moulder’s 37-page presentation outlined notable spending measures, including $1,000 pay raises for city workers grossing under $100,000 a year, a Christmas bonus tier for employees, various city fee increases for garbage pickup and water service, and a 2.3 millage increase on property taxes—which translates to an additional $9.20 on a $100,000 home.

Before entering executive session for legal advice regarding procurement and ethics issues (following which no action was taken), Mayor Ronnie O’Kelley honored the Seneca Light and Water Electric Department with a national certificate of reliability. While the majority of the presentation went smoothly, sharp division emerged over the $48 million utilities budget, which barely passed on a narrow 5-4 vote.

This friction stemmed from a water service base increase and a projected $1.5 million increase in the city’s wholesale costs for electrical power. Councilmen Dana Moore and W.C. Honeycutt directly challenged Moulder on the floor, with Honeycutt raising alarms over the financial impact on low-income customers, while Moore capped off a lengthy two-page analysis by questioning why everyday voters and water users are being asked to absorb higher electrical costs to supplement high-volume utility consumers rather than implementing cost-of-service increases. Here’s W.C. Honeycutt and Dana Moore…

GACA News Radio’s Dick Mangrum spoke with Assistant City Administrator Josh Riches about the renewal of the contract between the City’s power supplier Santee-Cooper and the potential increases as they relate to the FY2027 budget…