To claw its way out of debt, Wood suggested the city sell the municipal golf club and the $2 million city hall that was built in 2021. He also suggested cuts to the police force.<\/p>\n
Johnsonville\u2019s debt<\/p>\n
Johnsonville interim City Administrator Jimmy Brown is tasked with balancing the city\u2019s budget, but it is proving difficult because of the $5.2 million in debt.<\/p>\n
That debt comes from the golf course and city hall building, but also from a history of the city borrowing money from its other departments, Brown said.<\/p>\n
Past city councils may have been under the impression that money borrowed from one city department for another does not need to be paid back, Brown said, but it\u2019s required.<\/p>\n
Just a year after its new city hall opened<\/a>, Johnsonville used money from its reserves and water and sewer revenues, which are typically used for upgrades to those systems, to cover its first payment of nearly $200,000, according to previous reporting from The Post and Courier.<\/p>\n Johnsonville\u2019s new city hall as seen on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Deirdre Weaver-Currin\/Staff<\/a><\/p>\n Previous budgets were passed by administrators without taking debt into account, a practice that is abnormal, Wood said. Already, the city has passed a continuing budget ordinance, meaning last year\u2019s budget will remain until a new budget is passed.<\/p>\n Brown said he wouldn\u2019t support a budget that doesn\u2019t include the city\u2019s debt. He also said he won\u2019t support raising the city\u2019s debt millage because it would be unfair to residents whose tax money \u2014 $3.9 million from the capital project sales tax \u2014 already went to the rebuilding of the golf course.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s unfair, you know. You should be held to some sort of standard,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n The proposed budget will, Brown said, include a small \u201cpalatable\u201d rate increase for water and wastewater rates. Historically, the city has raised rates significantly when in need. Now, they\u2019ll try raising rates incrementally, a common practice in other cities, including Florence.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s police department is taking a large chunk of its general fund, Brown said \u2014 totaling $443,293 of the city\u2019s negative fund balance. Wood has suggested getting rid of the Johnsonville Police Department and contracting with the county to provide public safety services instead. Brown said he has not heard from the county and is not sure what will become of the department.<\/p>\n Interim City Administrator Jimmy Brown at the city of Johnsonville\u2019s June city council meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.<\/p>\n Deirdre Weaver-Currin\/Staff<\/p>\n Johnsonville has also struggled to keep up with payments for its city hall.<\/p>\n The city issued a $2.7 million general obligation bond to build the new city hall and improvements to its Wellman Golf Club. Of the multi-million-dollar bond, $656,000 went to the golf club.<\/p>\n City hall has a half dozen offices, council chambers with the capacity to hold more than 100 people, a conference room, a small kitchen area and multiple bathrooms. Only three employees man the building today, and Brown previously said it\u2019s more building than the city needs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Florence County Council is set to vote on first reading for whether it will take over the building and the debt at its upcoming council meeting June 18. County Administrator Kevin Yokim said at a May meeting that it would be the right thing to do.<\/p>\n Two golfers chat on the putting green at the Wellman Golf Club in 2023.<\/p>\n Staff\/File<\/a><\/p>\n The municipal golf club<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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