On Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, Clarendon County Council met for their regularly scheduled council meeting. After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the approval of the agenda and approval of minutes for the following meeting took place- special called meeting on Dec. 6, 2023, regular council meeting on Dec. 11, 2023, and special called meeting on Dec. 28, 2023.
Service awards went to Lawrence Hammond for five years of service with the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office, A.C. English, Jr. for 15 years of service to County Council, Rosa Kind for 25 years of service to Clarendon County Detention Center, and Jaqueline Bennett for five years of service with the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office.
Public comments were then opened. Moye Graham, Troy Allen, Cal Vaughn, and David Christmas all spoke out against the installation of solar panel farms for Clarendon County. They cited the following concerns: future waste, the negative impact of the solar farms for the future on the county, farm land, weather, clean up of the solar panel farms, ruining of farmland, and lack of recycling solar panel farms.
Fiscal Year budget 2024/2025 schedule approval was next. Lyndon Anthony (acting County administrator) explained that in February of 2024, disbursement of budget packages to the departments will begin. The county finance department will begin meeting with county departments in March and a balanced budget will need to be presented on or before Jul. 30. The first reading of the operating budget will be Apr. 8, and the budget workshop is scheduled for Apr. 29. A second reading and public hearing will take place on May 30. Jun. 10 will be the third reading and include the School District budget.
The schedule was approved unanimously.
At this time authorization of Lisa Justice to serve another term on the Clarendon County Development Board was approved unanimously. Consideration of the third and final reading of Ordinance 2023-07, an ordinance of the County Council of Clarendon County, South Carolina to amend ordinance 201-11 a/k/a the 2018 comprehensive plan and to adopt the attached amendments identified as exhibit A in conformance with the requirements of section 6-29 et.esq., code of laws of South Carolina; proving for severability and an effective date.
Anthony explained that the bigger changes were from the School Districts forming into one district and addresses changes in the economy and county demographics. This was the third and final reading of this ordinance. It passed unanimously.
A public hearing for Ordinance 2023-8 was held. This is an ordinance to provide for regulations relating to the procurement of goods and services by Clarendon County and to provide for other matters related thereto. Anthony stated it has been over ten years since this was reviewed and amended. The major changes include no competition is required as long as the price is fair and reasonable up to ten thousand dollars. From $10,000-$25,000, three verbal quotes need to be received and documented on file. $25,000-$50,000 require three written quotes to be documented. $50,000 and above require formal solicitation and a request for proposal and qualifications sealed in an envelope and opened in an open meeting. This is to make sure the verbiage aligns with state and federal levels. A second reading was held after the public hearing on ordinance 2023-8 and passed unanimously.
At this time, a public hearing and second reading was held on ordinance 2023-09, an ordinance to amend Clarendon County Ordinance No 2023-1, which approved and adopted the fiscal year 2023/2024 budget for Clarendon County, South Carolina. The county asked for an increase in spending in the amount of 2.2 million dollars. Anthony explained that this would normally be paid with borrowed money but the county had a recent increase in collections due to ad valorem taxes (an ad valorem tax is a tax based on the assessed value of an item). The requested funds will go to the following: to purchase assets for the Register of Deeds office for digitization of records, vehicles for the Assessors Offices (two Ford Explorers), a camera system with cloud storage for the Sheriff’s Office, a new radio system for first responders that is compatible with the Palmetto 800 Radio System that will be in state wide usage in January of 2026, two pick up trucks, three Ford Explorers and a Ford F-250 for the Sheriff’s Office, new radios for the Coroner and Fire and Rescue Departments, furniture for the new Procurement office, dock lifts for Church Street so that voting machines may be loaded and unload as well as a glass partition for the front, a truck for the Public Works Department, and computer equipment for the library lobby. This was passed unanimously.
Council will have its regular meeting in February and can be viewed by the public in person or on the Clarendon County Administration Facebook page.
