The county is on better financial footing going into the budget planning process this year than it was at the same time in 2012, according to officials.

Scotland County’s board of commissioners will meet at 8 a.m. today for its “mid-year retreat” to begin formulating budgetary goals for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

“Right now we are in a marginally better position than we were last year,” said County Manager Kevin Patterson, who will present the commissioners with a financial outlook for the current fiscal year during today’s meeting.

“We will discuss where we are right now and where we are projected to be (during the retreat),” Patterson said.

On the agenda for the meeting is a discussion of both the operations and capital goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year. Those goals will shape the upcoming budget planning sessions, which will draw to a close in June.

The commissioners are also expected to discuss the handling of various properties that the county has acquired through foreclosure. In an effort to extract some revenue from the foreclosures, the commissioners will consider how they might sell the property this year.

“(The task) will be to find some way of selling the property,” said Patterson, adding that hosting an auction for all of the foreclosed properties will likely be an option.

Also on the agenda, the commissioners will move to offer final approval of the vehicle financing plan that will allow the sheriff’s office to purchase six of the eight police vehicles shipped to the county from a Georgia-based auto dealer in January.

According to Patterson, the two Ford Police Interceptors that the commissioners recently agreed not to purchase were picked up earlier this month by representatives of Bobby Jones Ford of Augusta.

“The other six are still waiting at the sheriff’s (office),” Patterson said.

Once a financing agreement is finalized at the commissioner’s next regular meeting, the sheriff’s deputies will be allowed to take the cars out on the road.