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Leaders' spending wishes go unfulfilled AIKEN - Aiken County legislators are reluctant to talk about it - some just won't - but there's a wish list of things they'd do if South Carolina's economic picture were brighter. Rep. Roland Smith, R-Langley, said he'd send money to restore the town of Jackson's aging community center and help county officials build facilities to market Langley Pond as a premier rowing center. If there were any funds left, he'd send some cash to help North Augusta build its theater along the Savannah River. Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken and Edgefield counties, said his district could use health-care centers that offer blood testing for poor people suffering from diabetes and heart disease. Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, said he'd like to chip in a little extra for state employees, who haven't received a cost-of-living salary increase in three years while health insurance costs have ballooned. But some Aiken-area lawmakers said South Carolina's budget woes are too dire to get anyone's hopes up. "I don't deal in ifs," said Rep. Robert "Skipper" Perry, R-Aiken. Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, said, "Hypothetical questions like that, at this point, are a dream. Right now, I've got to deal with reality." Legislators say their biggest task this year is finding enough money to fund education and health care next year, while keeping the state's other agencies afloat. The Board of Economic Advisers, a panel of economists who make revenue projections, said the state will bring in about $4.98 billion next year, but lawmakers say that will be $350 million to $500 million short of what the state needs to meet expenditures. State agencies in South Carolina have had their budgets cut six times since 2001, said Michael Sponhour, the spokesman for the state Budget and Control Board, which monitors South Carolina's revenues and works with the Board of Economic Advisers. The most recent cut was made in August, when agencies were told to sequester 1 percent of their operating budgets. There are, however, signs of hope. The Board of Economic Advisers said in December that South Carolina would likely have enough money to avoid additional budget cuts between now and July, when the fiscal year ends, Mr. Sponhour said. Legislators who have grown accustomed to a sluggish economy in South Carolina aren't about to start celebrating. "The national economy, according to what you read and hear, has improved some," Mr. Moore said. "Unfortunately, being that South Carolina is a manufacturing economy, it seems we're the first to feel the pinch." Reach Josh Gelinas at (803)279-6895 or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.
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