More firefighters and sheriff's deputies could be on the way to Fort Mill if the county budget passes a final vote in its current form.

York County Council members were scheduled to vote on a second reading for the budget package Monday night. It must pass a third vote scheduled for Monday, June 16, and go through a public hearing on Tuesday, May 27, before it's final, according to York County Finance Director Beth Latham.

As presented, the budget includes a 0.2 mill increase in the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire Department tax district, which will provide approximately $82,000 for the equivalent of two full-time firefighters. The department has been paying members for shifts to provide around-the-clock response. The money will enable the department to add two firefighters to each shift.

Based on a home with an assessed value of $200,000, it would cost average homeowners in the district approximately $1.60 a year more than they pay now, Latham said.

The budget also includes $50,000 for preliminary design and planning for a third Flint Hill station, though that money will come without any tax increase in the district, Latham said.

Law enforcement funding in the township will also get a boost, though Sheriff Bruce Bryant isn't sure exactly how many new deputies will be assigned to Fort Mill patrols.

"It appears we'll get five new deputies in the budget," Bryant said. "Fort Mill will probably get at least two. Fort Mill is the fastest growing area in the county."

The new deputies will enter the department under a new Pro Star system that Bryant said gives his senior officers better control of the four county districts.

The districts mirror the county school districts, and each one will be under the command of a lieutenant, who will be in charge of the officers on all four shifts. Deputies on each shift will answer to a shift sergeant.

Previously, the lieutenants were in charge of separate shifts, and deputies could end up running from one end of the county to the other in the same shift. Now, deputies will be assigned to specific districts in an effort to better understand and address problem areas in each district.

The budget also includes some money to furnish the department's Fort Mill district office based in the York Electric Co-op office at 2089 Hwy. 21 Bypass, and to renovate an office for the Clover district, Bryant said.

Under the proposed budget, Fort Mill and Tega Cay would also see a 4 percent increase in recreation funding, up to $62,822 each from last year's amount of $60,406, Latham said.

Fort Mill Township will also see more money for water and sewer projects under the proposed Water and Sewer budget, according to Latham. That budget will not include any tax increases though, because it is an enterprise fund, meaning it has to pay for itself through user fees.

Among the projects slated to begin in the coming fiscal year are the installation of a new water line from Rock Hill into unincorporated Fort Mill. It's a $7.2 million project, slated to span two years. Also planned is a new $2.6 million water tower for the Carowinds area. That project is scheduled to be completed over the next three years, Latham said.

The county also plans to upgrade the sewer pump station and force main at the New Heritage site near Regent Park for a cost of $7.2 million over two years.