Latest / Saluda County Unplugged / June 8, 2026 County Council Meeting Preview
Transcript
- Josh Morton: The next item on the agenda is one that we know people are very interested in. Council will be considering second reading of Ordinance 1-26, which is the update to the Saluda County Comprehensive Plan. Now, if you'll remember, this item actually received first reading back in March, so it has been a few months since we last talked about it. This delay was intentional and allowed the county to make additions to the document, primarily detailed maps which showed current and projected land use patterns throughout the county. Another important item involves the adoption of the updated Saluda County Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan is required by FEMA and has to be updated every five years. It serves as the county's roadmap for reducing disaster risks before emergencies occur. It identifies potential hazards facing the county, evaluates our vulnerability, and outlines strategies to help reduce future impacts. The public hearing for this update was actually held back in May of 2025. Welcome back to Saluda County Unplugged. I'm Rachel. And I'm Josh. As always, we're recording this episode before the final agenda is published, so everything we're discussing today is based on the information available at the time of the recording. While some items could change before Monday night, these are the topics we currently expect to see before County Council on June eighth. The meeting will begin with the county standard opening procedures and will include a public comment period. If you'd like to address counsel during public comment, Moving into new business, one exciting item on the agenda is the first reading of ordinance six twenty six. This ordinance would allow the county to enter into a lease agreement with a flight school at the Saluda County Airport. The county has been in discussion with Aiken pilot training about expanding their flight training operations into Saluda County. Another item we expect council to consider is a 5% local match requirement associated with an assistance to firefighters grant application. The county plans to apply for federal grant funding to purchase a new pumper tanker fire apparatus. The proposed truck would feature a 1,500 gallon per minute pump and a 2,100 gallon water tank, providing both firefighting and water supply capabilities in a single vehicle. Have questions or an idea for an upcoming episode? Email us at publicinfo at salutacounty.sc.gov. And remember, always dance like no one's gonna put it on YouTube. We'll see you next week. After the public hearings, Council will move into old business, beginning with the second reading of Ordinance Zero Five-26, the ordinance to reimpose the Capital Project Sales Tax, commonly referred to as CPST. This proposal would continue the one percent sales tax that Saluta County residents have become familiar with over the past several years. This Monday night's County Council meeting is shaping up to be one of the busiest meetings we've seen in quite a while. Between budget hearings, the Capitol Project sales tax, airport expansion opportunities, emergency services grants, and several major county initiatives, there's a lot on the agenda. If you've been waiting for updates on the county budget or want to learn more about projects that could impact Saluda County for years to come, this is definitely a meeting you'll want to pay attention to. Council is also expected to consider a lease agreement for two motor graders for the Roads and Bridges Department. This isn't a brand new program. In fact, it's essentially a continuation of a leasing approach the county has used successfully for many years. As always, remember that we're recording this episode before the final agenda has been released, so some items could change before Monday night's meeting. The Saluda County Council meeting will be held Monday, June the 8th, beginning at 6 PM. The meeting is open to the public and anyone interested in local government is encouraged to attend. If you're unable to attend in person, Another item we expect to see on Monday's agenda is authorization for Saluda County EMS to apply for an RHTP grant. We also expect Council to make appointments to the Planning Commission and the Gleams Board. While these appointments don't always receive a lot of attention, they're important because these boards play a key role in shaping policy and representing Saluda County's interests on issues ranging from land use planning to regional community services. Finally, we expect council to enter executive session near the end of the meeting. Based on the information available at the time of this recording, The first major items on the agenda are two public hearings related to the upcoming fiscal year budgets. To help us understand what that grant is and how it could benefit emergency medical services in Saluda County, we're joined today by EMS Director Jacob Starns. Jacob, welcome to the podcast. Hey, thank you for having me. So, for those who aren't familiar with the program, could you tell us a little bit about RHTP and what that is? RHTP is the rural health transformation program. And we're going to be added to the part of the wellness within reach. The first hearing will be for Ordinance 3-26, which would adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget for the Saluda County School District. Following that, Council will hold a public hearing on Ordinance 04-26, which is the proposed fiscal year 2026 County Government Budget. We'll break down everything we expect to see at the June eighth meeting, and later in the episode, we'll be joined by EMS Director Jacob Starnes to talk about a grant opportunity that could help strengthen emergency medical services in our county. Let's get started. One of the biggest challenges facing fire departments across the county is the rising cost of apparatus. New trucks are significantly more expensive than they were just a few years ago, and delivery times can stretch out for several years depending on the manufacturer. This grant would help replace an aging truck currently in the fleet. Unlike property taxes, the capital project sales tax is paid by anyone making purchases in the county, including visitors, Remember that you must sign up on the appropriate sheet at the back of the room before the meeting begins. Speakers are limited to three minutes each. And normally after that public hearing, the plan is submitted to FEMA and the review takes a couple of months. So normally these plans move through the FEMA review and they're adopted within a couple of months of that public hearing. However, a combination of federal government shutdowns and a couple of minor revisions requested by FEMA extended this timeline. So now that FEMA has completed its review process and approved the plan. Along with the definitions that explain those classifications. Those additions required another review by the Planning Commission, which approved the updated version during a June 2nd meeting. The Comprehensive Plan is one of the most important planning documents the County maintains because it helps guide future growth, development, infrastructure investments, and land use decisions. If you're interested in reviewing the plan for yourself, the draft document and maps are available on the Saluta County website. You can also watch the meeting live on the Saluda County, South Carolina government Facebook page. And if you can't watch it live, don't worry. We'll be back next week to break down what happened, explain the decisions that were made, and keep you informed about the issues affecting Saluda County. As always, thanks for listening to Saluda County Unplugged. We'll see you next week. than purchasing heavy equipment outright and operating it until it reaches the end of its life, the county leases equipment through state contract programs that allow newer equipment to remain in service Since this meeting also includes multiple public hearings, anyone planning to speak should pay close attention to which sign-up sheet they're using. there will be separate opportunities for public comment during those hearings, so make sure you're signing up for the correct portion of the meeting. For a general aviation airport like ours, attracting a flight school can have significant benefits. Flight training brings more aircraft activity, creates additional economic activity around the airport, and can generate revenue that helps support airport operations. It also helps introduce more people to aviation. Council is expected to discuss personnel matters associated with the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget process. These conversations are typically held in executive session because they involve discussions around compensation and staffing matters that can be tied to individual employees. based on the number of personnel-related budget requests under consideration, Which allows a portion of major capital improvement costs to be shared by people who use county services but don't necessarily live here. As we've discussed in previous episodes, proposed projects for the Capitol Project Sales Tax were prioritized through a committee process which involved members of the community. The current CPST is nearing the end of its authorized term, and this proposal would establish the next round of projects if ultimately approved by the voters in November. of that program is four different programs. Older apparatus often become increasingly expensive to maintain, and eventually the cost of repairs start to outweigh the benefits of keeping them in service. Grant opportunities like this can be extremely valuable because they help local governments modernize equipment while reducing the financial burden on taxpayers. While keeping long-term ownership costs under control. Motor graters are some of the most important pieces of equipment used for maintaining our county roads, particularly because we're in a rural area and most of our roads are not paved. Maintaining reliable equipment helps ensure the roads and bridges department can continue providing these services efficiently throughout the county. The county is finally ready to formally adopt this updated version of our hazard mitigation plan. Maintaining an approved hazard mitigation plan is important because it affects our eligibility for certain federal mitigation and disaster recovery funding programs. The part that we're looking at is the MIH, Mobile Integrated Health Care. It's a five year pilot study to collect data to help reimbursement of MIH services rendered from CMS. So what is MIH? ⁓ MIH is Mobile Integrated Health Care. It's part of a community program. Student pilots, instructors, visitors, and aviation enthusiasts all become part of the airport community. Increased activity can strengthen the airport's long-term sustainability while creating opportunities for local residents who may be interested in aviation careers or recreational flying. This is the type of development that many communities look for when trying to maximize the value of their airport asset. These hearings are an opportunity for residents to provide direct feedback to county council before final action is taken on these budgets. This is the formal opportunity to have your voice heard. We do expect this executive session could last a little longer than what we typically see during a regular council meeting. Just remember that if you want to speak during either of these hearings, you need to sign up before the meeting starts. Public hearings are one of the most important ways citizens can participate in local government. And basically a community paramedic program is a little bit different than you would think from a paramedic, and you call 911, you get an ambulance. A community is a single paramedic that specialized in community paramedicine, and they go to your house, check up on you daily or once a week, and they focus on chronic disease management, post-discharge follow-up. Preventive care, care coordination, and public health interventions. So basically they're trying to keep you out of the hospital. So if you have ⁓ some type of that you're calling EMS to transport you to the hospital two to three times a month or once a week, the goal is to keep you out of the hospital. So they'd come follow up, make sure you're taking your medications, you're getting to your doctor's appointments. you're getting care for post op. So if you have a wound or something, make sure it's not getting infected. it's basically the is to keep you out of the hospital. right. So how is this program funded? I know initially we're looking at a grant that would help fund that position. good question. that is the reason for this grant. It is a five-year pilot study and the data they're gonna collect it from rural counties, especially counties that don't have a hospital, and in hopes ⁓ seeing that this is an effective thing and it keeps out of the hospital, we're hoping that CMS will allow reimbursement so we can actually start getting paid to go to your house and render these services. So CMS, and hopefully they'll pick that up and say, hey, this this is actually working due to this study, you know, five years. We have all this data, it's working correctly, so now we feel okay by letting insurance and CMS charge for this and we get we get reimbursement. Right. So mentioned CMS a couple of times. What exactly is that? CMS is the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services. it is the organization that allows different type of reimbursements. CMS is going to allow Medicare and Medicaid to be charged for this service. ⁓ Okay, so now everything's fully funded, the position's the vehicles funded, the equipment's funded, it's a hundred percent fully funded through this pilot study in hopes that CMS will see that this is effective, then CMS will allow Medicare and Medicaid to allow the service to be reimbursed for the services provided. So Jacob, this sounds really incredible. quick question, how much would this cost, the to have this community paramedic come out to their house? Great question. It will cost them absolutely nothing. it will also cost the county nothing. This is a fully funded pilot study where all costs are covered. That is awesome. And one of the things that as you're talking about this that I started thinking about was we have a situation in this county because we have so few staffed ambulances. where we run into what we call status zero, which is where you have all of your ambulances out of the county ⁓ to hospitals or maybe ⁓ tied up on calls. it seems like this may be something that might help remedy that situation. Yes. The purpose of this is to try to prevent people from calling EMS for the same issue. Not that we don't care that they call EMS for the same issue, but this is also to help the hospital that's overtaxed, the ER, the EMS service that's overtaxed. It's hopefully that we can provide that simple care ⁓ hey, this patient is taking their blood pressure medications. Hey, this patient did get their request to follow up with their doctor at this such and such time. Hey, this patient does have a wound, let's look at it. We don't need to go to the ER right now, but let's watch it, let's look at it. You got somebody that's trained to prevent all these things and to watch all this stuff, and the whole process is to try to keep them from calling nine one one and keep them out of the ER. Yeah, it's sort sort of like the the days where the doctors old time used to go around and do house calls. Exactly, exactly. Jacob, thanks so much joining us today. Thank you for everything that you and your crew does for the county. We appreciate y'all so Y'all are there on our worst days and so ⁓ It'll be great to hopefully with this limit some of the worst days that y'all see people. Not a problem. I appreciate you having me and like I always say, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to come back. Thanks, Jack. Thank you.