Latest / Saluda County Unplugged / The County Budget Part 3 - What is County Government Doing While You Go About Your Day?
Transcript
- Josh Morton: While you're listening to this podcast, county employees are probably repairing a piece of heavy equipment, recording a deed, answering a 911 call, collecting property taxes, processing payroll, grading a road, updating tax maps, or signing someone's pet up to be spayed or neutered. And somewhere in Saluda County, somebody has probably called asking, whose responsibility is this? Most of those things never make the news. Most people never see them happen, but they're taking place every single day. Today we're going behind the scenes to answer a simple question. What is county government doing while you go about your day? This is Saluda County unplugged. Welcome back to Saluda County Unplugged. I'm Rachel. And I'm Josh. Today's episode is part three of our series on the county budget. Over the last two episodes in this series, we've talked about where the county's money comes from and why public safety makes up such a large part of the budget. Today, we're shifting our focus to everything else. Because while public safety represents the largest portion of the budget, it's far from the only thing the county government does. In fact, by the end of today's episode, you may be surprised by just how many county services quietly happen around you every single day. Let's start before most of us have had our first cup of coffee. Deputies have already worked through the night, EMS crews have been answering calls, dispatchers have been on duty, Detention officers have been supervising inmates. If severe weather moved through overnight, county employees may already be out checking roads, assessing damage, clearing debris, or responding to reports from across the county. County government doesn't really have an opening time. Some parts of it operate 24 hours a day. And in addition to those things, there are people behind the scenes making sure our county government is ready to serve you, our citizens. Building maintenance staff may be in early because of a maintenance issue. Vehicle maintenance staff members are already checking out vehicles to make sure they're ready for the day. Roads and Bridges employees are in early to get out on the roads before it gets too hot. Technology systems are being monitored around the clock. The public rarely sees these things happening, but they're the foundation that allows every other department to do its work. Now it's 8 30. County offices are officially opened. This is when many of the services people think of as county government begin. Someone walks into the treasurer's office to pay property taxes. A family records the deed of their new home. A contractor applies for a building permit. A surveyor requests GIS mapping information. The purchasing department is busy issuing a request for proposals to make sure we get the best deal possible. Custodial staff are hard at work cleaning the county courthouse. A local veteran is meeting with the Veterans Affairs office to receive assistance with benefits they've earned through military service. The probate court helps a family settle an estate, the auditor's office answers questions about vehicle taxes, and election staff are preparing long before the next election ever arrives. Every office has its own mission, but together they're serving hundreds of residents every single day. One thing that may surprise you is how interconnected all of these apartments really are. Take buying or building a house. Before that transaction is complete, the building codes department has issued permits for improvements to the property. The clerk of court records the deed. The assessor's office values the property. The auditor calculates the tax. The treasurer collects the tax. The GIS department updates the property maps and assigns an E911 address. What looks like one simple transaction actually involves multiple county offices working together behind the scenes. And that's something that we found over and over again while preparing this series. County government isn't a collection of separate departments. It's one organization providing many different services. Of course, county government isn't limited to the courthouse. Roads and bridges crews are replacing signs, repairing drainage problems, cleaning culverts, mowing rights of way, and maintaining county roads. Contracted building inspectors are visiting construction sites to make sure buildings are safe. Animal control is responding to calls about stray or abandoned animals. The library is hosting children's programs, helping residents access computers and online resources, and offering much more than books. The airport supports agricultural aviation, business travel, the sale of aviation fuel, and coming soon, flight training. Economic development partners are working to attract new investment and jobs to Saluda County. County government reaches into nearly every corner of the county, even if most people don't notice it. And that's really the theme of today's episode. Most county services aren't something you think about every day until you need them. you probably don't think about building codes until you're building something. You don't think about GIS until there's a property line question. You don't think about probate court until a loved one passes away. And you don't think about elections until it's time to vote. Success often means these services quietly doing their job without drawing attention to themselves. Here's something that really stood out to me while we were preparing this episode. Some of the most important work county government does is completely invisible. Grant writing, budget preparation, cybersecurity, employee training, preventative maintenance, records management, policy development, emergency planning, technology upgrades. those aren't the kinds of things that usually make headlines. But they're what allow county government to keep operating day after day. Think about payroll. Nobody celebrates when employees get paid correctly, but everyone notices if payroll doesn't happen. The same is true for technology. Nobody notices when email works, everyone notices when it doesn't. Some of government's biggest successes are the things that never become news because they simply work the way they're supposed to. So Josh, after putting this episode together, what's one thing that really stuck with you? I think the biggest takeaway here is just how connected all of these departments are. It's easy to think about departments individually because that's how the budget is organized. But that's not how county government actually works. Roads support public safety. Technology supports every department. Finance supports every department. Human resources supports every department. Everybody depends on everybody else. For me, I really think that realizing how many county services are completely invisible when they're working well stuck with me. Most people only notice county government when something goes wrong or when something is controversial. The reality is that hundreds of things happen every single day that never make the news because they're simply a part of serving the public. Over these first three episodes in our series, we've talked about what the county budget pays for, what happens after someone dials 911, and some of the things that county government is doing while most of us are just going about our day. Next week, we're finally going to put all of that into context by answering the question, what actually changed in this year's budget? We'll talk about the county council's priorities, some of the biggest investments in this year's budget, and how those changes support the services we've been discussing throughout this series. And don't forget, after that, we'll wrap things up with a bonus episode where we'll open the actual budget document and show you how to read it for yourself. Thanks for listening to Saluda County Unplugged. Have questions or an idea for an upcoming episode? Email us at publicinfo at salutacounty.sc.gov. And remember, if you're the one who keeps putting the empty milk carton back in the refrigerator, we need to talk. See you next time.