West Columbia’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget, approved at a special meeting on June 16, did not include a property tax increase. 

Council unanimously passed the budget on second reading, including $26.3 million in revenues, and a slight decrease in property taxes. It will go into effect on July 1, which is the first day of the new fiscal year.

The 2024-25 budget totaled $25 million in revenues; 36.84% of that came from property taxes. Property tax revenues make up 37.41% of the 2025-26 budget revenues. 

Council also included additional funding for the city’s blight removal program. The program aims to clean up trash and debris from properties in the city, according to West Columbia’s site for the program.

Information on the full 2025-26 budget can be found at westcolumbiasc.gov/finance/. 

The meeting also saw the first-reading approval for pre-qualification of contractors for the ongoing Meeting Street Roadway Improvement Project, which includes crosswalk improvements and the addition of a bike lane. 

The city has been working to improve Meeting Street for pedestrians. It plans to transform the street into a “multimodal corridor,” with improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists, according to a 2024 document. 

Council gave first-reading approval to chemical bids for the Lake Murray and Riverside water treatment plants. The plant is undergoing an expansion planned to be completed in 2027. The new budget will emphasize improvements to sewer and water infrastructure in West Columbia, according to the financials and budget information site.

Council entered executive session to discuss a lawsuit with the Town of Lexington. Council took no action after adjourning from the executive session. Public documents detail a water services dispute dating back to 2018 between the two municipalities. The most recent update that public records show on a lawsuit between the two Lexington County locations was dated June 19, 2025, and involved an alternative dispute resolution.

“West Columbia generally alleges that Lexington has been and continues to improperly provide water service to customer locations that West Columbia has the right to serve, and Lexington generally alleges that West Columbia is attempting to provide water service to customer locations that Lexington has the right to serve,” 11th Judicial Circuit documents from 2024 state.