Beaufort County’s new budget of $57,037,351 will go into effect July 1.

The budget also calls for the county to seek a $3 million loan to catch up on overdue maintenance projects and other construction at county facilities.

While the next budget is technically less than the current year’s budget, it contains expansion of two services: Beaufort County EMS coverage in the Washington township district, as well as an expansion that allows the Beaufort County Health Department to take over providing medical care for Beaufort County Detention Center inmates—currently outsourced to a Tennessee-based subcontractor—and create a clinic to give the public access to some medical care and other resources.

As opposed to last year’s public hearing for the budget — when many residents let commissioners know their feelings about a 2-cent property tax hike and an increase in solid waste fees — only two people spoke at Monday night’s public hearing, held at the Beaufort County Courthouse to accommodate a larger audience.

Ray Leary, representing Citizens for Better Government of Beaufort County, told commissioners the budget does not represent the “wishes and aspirations of the hardworking people of Beaufort County.” Leary cited the county’s poverty rate when saying increased spending impacts the poorest residents.

“Those that can least afford it are the ones paying the highest share,” Leary said.

Another resident, Donna Lay, took commissioners to task for funding the Beaufort Area Transit System bus, a service initially intended for public transportation. Lay said, according to her experience, BATS does not qualify as public transportation and resented its support by county taxpayer dollars.

A 5-2 vote approved the 2017-18 budget; commissioners Ed Booth and Hood Richardson voted against.