How Florence is run
Who runs Florence, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Florence's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Florence
Florence has a council-manager government. The mayor and six council members make policy, adopt the budget and hire the city manager. City Manager Scotty Davis carries out council policy, runs daily operations and appoints department directors.
What they are paid
- Travel and lodging budget of $6,500 a year for each of the seven members.
Florence city staff
589 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 127, Fire 98, Water and sewer 162. FY2026-27. Full-time positions in the adopted budget. Part-time staff are not counted. City of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
The budget shows salary totals by department and position counts. The city does not publish individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Florence in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $22.7M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city's policy is to keep a minimum unrestricted balance of at least 30 percent of general fund operating revenues or expenditures. Unassigned fund balance was 39.3 percent of general fund expenditures, and the audit says the city stayed in compliance. The city meets this target. City of Florence · Dec 19, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Business, insurance and other licenses and franchise fees$20.2M · 36%
- Property taxes$17.7M · 31%
- Transfers from other funds (net)$6.9M · 12%
- State and other government payments, incl. sales tax$6.5M · 12%
- Permits and fees, incl. landfill fees$3.3M · 6%
- Other$1.7M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries and benefits$36.5M · 65%
- Operating expenses$14.1M · 25%
- Debt service$2.8M · 5%
- Capital outlay$1.4M · 2%
- Transfers (neighborhood redevelopment)$800,000 · 1%
- Other$675,000 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Rates are in mills, dollars per $1,000 of assessed value. Schools take the largest share. The city's own rate is 75.6 mills in the FY2026-27 budget.
16¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Florence
- City of FlorenceOperating 64.1, debt 4.068.1 · 16%
- Florence County92.7 · 22%
- Florence School District One255.7 · 61%
- Florence-Darlington Technical College4.6 · 1%
- Total (mills)421.1
Tax year 2024 rates for property in the City of Florence (Florence County). City of Florence · Dec 19, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Florence is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFlorence Police DepartmentCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- FireThe cityFlorence Fire DepartmentCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Florence UtilitiesCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Florence UtilitiesCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | GreenwoodSC | Hilton Head IslandSC | FlorenceSC | SumterSC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 22,745 | 38,196 | 41,231 | 43,094 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2022) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $23,345 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,017 | $1,771 | $1,363 | $1,321 |
| Debt per resident | $40 | $1,889 | $5,172 | $978 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $541 | $469 | $1,020 | $1,113 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 7.8 | 14.3 | 14.4 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Hilton Head Island pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Florence publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract or salary for City Manager Scotty Davis on the city website or in the budget. City of Florence
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows $113,077 of salaries for the mayor and council combined, but not each official's pay. City of Florence · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's share of statewide pension shortfalls was $42.1 million on June 30, 2025. How does the budget plan for future contribution increases?
- The budget shows $113,077 of salaries for the mayor and council combined. Will the city publish each official's pay and the city manager's contract?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Departments send requests to the City Manager each spring, and the council adopts the budget after a public hearing and two readings of the budget ordinance, by June 30. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 8, 2026. See who is running for council
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