Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon spoke briefly about an ordinance authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation bonds not exceeding $3.5 million.
No one spoke during the Public Hearing and second reading was approved.
Mixon then spoke about the proposed general fund operating budget, which stands at $61,171,706, and includes a 2-mill increase that would be offset by the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) credit.
Built into that are a 3.7 percent increase in employee health insurance, a retirement increase, a Cost-Of-Living (COLA) increase of 3 percent, and a proposed $25,000 minimum salary for county employees.
No one spoke during the Public Hearing and second reading was approved on a 5-2 vote with Vice Chairman Jimmy Byrd and Councilman Charles Edens voting against it.
Sumter County Attorney Johnathan Bryan then spoke about an ordinance to approve a storm water drainage easement on property adjacent to Brewington Road.
Second reading was approved.
Councilman Carlton Washington commented on a May 22 public meeting involving officials from Shaw Air Force Base discussing groundwater contamination. Washington advocated for involvement of elected officials at the federal level.
Mixon reported that Sumter County is prepared to present its ‘Stash The Trash’ Litter Initiative to the South Carolina Association of Counties in competition for the J. Graham Mitchell Award.
Councilman Charles Edens reported that from the recent Sumter Litter Advisory Board meeting, he learned that since January, about 75 tons of litter have been picked up county-wide between city, county and state entities.
Councilman Washington commented he’s noticed a visible difference of less litter around the county.
There were no comments during Public Hearing and the meeting adjourned at 6:23 p.m.