Goose Creek City Council Meeting – October 14, 2026

On October 14, 2026 (the supplied timestamp; the agenda in the source materials listed Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM), the Goose Creek City Council met in regular session at Municipal Court, 519 N Goose Creek Boulevard, Goose Creek, SC. The council heard reports and presentations, conducted public hearings with no public speakers, and approved ordinances and resolutions concerning the FY2027 budget, camping regulations, the Chief Financial Officer title, parliamentary rules, impact fees, the Lake Moultrie Water Agency, and the St. James Trail project.

Consent Calendar / Routine Approvals

• Council unanimously approved the minutes of the September 4, 2026 budget workshop, the September 8, 2026 regular meeting, and the September 22, 2026 workshop.
• Council approved awarding Employee of the Year to the person discussed in executive session; no name was announced in open session.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public signed up for the general public comments period. The mayor reminded the public that speakers must sign up in advance and are limited to 3 minutes.
• No public speakers came forward during any of the public hearings for the ordinances, budget, or resolutions.

Presentations & Proclamations

• National First Responders Day: The mayor proclaimed October 28, 2026 as National First Responders Day, emphasizing that first responders include public works professionals, firefighters, police, EMS, 911 operators, and paramedics. He praised public works staff for storm response and infrastructure safety.
• Creek Rising Award: The city presented the mayor’s citation to Big Bear Roofing, Habitat for Humanity of Berkeley County, Hope-Repair.Org, and Nexus Pointe Church for a community roofing project that rebuilt large roof sections for a family. The effort was coordinated by Pastor Steve Cotton.
• Trident United Way: Chloe Clotzbach thanked the city for its 2025-2026 campaign, which raised over $13,000, exceeding the $12,000 goal. Since 2020, city employees have contributed more than $60,000. She noted that approximately 34% of Goose Creek households are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
• Helping Hands of Goose Creek: Nicole presented a plaque to the Department of Public Works for its food drive. City departments raised 1,129 pounds of food, serving nearly 100 families; Public Works raised 709 pounds this year compared to 115 pounds in 2025. The mayor noted Mark Phillips helped create Helping Hands 40 years ago and encouraged donations.

Mayor’s Leadership Council Report

• Students Nathan Campbell and Zariya Pease reported on recent visits with Fire Chief Nixon and Police Chief Hill. They learned about multi-year budget planning, preparing for rapid growth, the high cost of equipment such as fire trucks over $1 million, and the police department’s community engagement efforts.

Old Business: Rules of Parliamentary Procedure Ordinance

• Second and final reading of an ordinance repealing sections of Chapter 31 and adopting Exhibit A rules of procedure. The mayor explained it streamlines Robert’s Rules for a seven-member council. The ordinance passed on a voice vote.

New Business & Public Hearings

Camping Ordinance Amendment (§131.083)

• First reading of an ordinance repealing and replacing §131.083, Regulations Prohibiting Camping on Public or Private Property. The mayor said the update incorporates changes identified by the police department. No public comments; motion carried.

Chief Financial Officer Ordinance

• First reading of an ordinance recognizing the Chief Financial Officer as the head of the Administration Department and replacing references to Finance Director. The mayor explained the city now has both a CFO and a finance director. No public comments; motion carried.

FY2027 Budget Ordinance

• The agenda lists this ordinance as the budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2027 and ending December 31, 2027. The transcript’s spoken reading said 2026, but this summary uses the agenda dates.
• No public comments were offered. The mayor presented these budget highlights:
  • Balanced general fund with $56.9 million in budgeted revenue and $56.8 million in expenditures; the mayor also cited approximately $53 million in general fund revenues, a projected increase of $2.7 million, or 5.3%, over the prior year. Revenues grew almost 12% over the last two years, driven largely by commercial growth.
  • Business license revenue and local option sales tax together account for about $27 million, nearly half of the general fund and not derived from resident homeowner property taxes.
  • One-time reserves fund one-time investments, including the St. James Avenue Safety Crossing project, hiker/biker trail, stormwater improvements on Old Monks Corner Road, and fire apparatus.
  • The budget adds 13 general fund positions, including firefighters, a deputy city clerk, a finance director, and a cloud applications administrator.
  • Employee pay includes a 4% cost-of-living adjustment, targeted increases for sanitation employees, and police compensation investments including incentive pay, on-call pay, and mid-year step advancements.
  • The total budget, including water, is nearly $97 million. The city has about 53,000 residents and is the eighth-largest city in South Carolina.
  • The sanitation fee increases by $10; the mayor said the fee funds the sanitation service and that the service is better than in surrounding areas.
  • Capital expenditures are about $5.1 million, nearly 9% of the general fund, for priorities including St. James Avenue crossings, a new fire apparatus over $1 million, ten police vehicles and equipment, a rear-loading garbage truck, a dump truck, and municipal complex parking improvements.
  • The budget includes $500,000 in contingency funds and does not increase the millage rate on homes.
• The budget ordinance passed on first reading.

Development Impact Fee Study Resolution

• Final reading of a resolution directing the Planning Commission to review the city’s development impact fee study update and proposed capital improvements plan, and to make recommendations under the South Carolina Development Impact Fee Act. The mayor said the last impact fee study was around 2017/2018, and before that 1985. He stated impact fees should help growth pay for growth without being cost-prohibitive. Approved.

Lake Moultrie Water Agency Resolution

• Final reading of a resolution approving the Lake Moultrie Water Agency resolution titled Acknowledgement of Contract Extension and Capital Needs, and authorizing the mayor or the director of public works to execute it. The mayor explained the agency includes Goose Creek, Berkeley County, Moncks Corner CPW, and Summerville CPW. Significant capital work is needed for aging infrastructure, redundancy, capacity, and an unfunded EPA mandate costing tens of millions plus $6-8 million annually. The city’s share is 14.9% of a $325-350 million transmission line out of about $400 million total. Approved.

Administrator’s Report

• Council awarded design, permitting, and construction administration services for the St. James Trail Multi-Use Path Project. The project includes a $1.5 million city match and a $6.5 million federal grant managed by the Council of Governments. Motion carried.

Mayor’s Report

• The mayor made announcements including the 2026 Christmas Parade on December 12; a new real-time water outage map; the Livin’ in the Creek app; Creek Palooza weekend; an Avery Anna concert on Saturday with doors at 5 p.m. and concert at 6 p.m.; Central Creek Farmers Market on first and third Wednesdays including October 21; Budget and Brews on October 28 at 6 p.m. at Stones Throw Brewing; Coffee in the Creek conversations; Trunk or Treat on October 31, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Veterans Day ceremony November 11 at McCants Veterans Park; Goose Creek Appreciation Day at Charleston Southern University on November 14 at 6 p.m.; Puzzle Palooza October 15; Christmas card competition deadline October 16; Halloween Carnival October 24 at 4:30 p.m.; and other recreation events.
• Council comments: Councilman thanked the mayor and staff for working with SCDOT to move the I-26 construction start time earlier for commuters. Councilwoman noted the council workshop is held the fourth Tuesday of each month at the fire department conference room and is open to the public.

Key Outcomes

• All motions before the council passed on voice votes with no audible opposition: minutes approved; parliamentary rules ordinance approved on second/final reading; §131.083 camping ordinance approved on first reading; CFO ordinance approved on first reading; FY2027 budget ordinance approved on first reading; impact fee resolution approved; Lake Moultrie Water Agency resolution approved; St. James Trail contract award approved; and Employee of the Year award approved.
• No public testimony was given during the meeting.
• The FY2027 budget advanced from first reading; a public budget discussion event, Budget and Brews, is scheduled for October 28, 2026.