Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
At its October 19 meeting, Allendale County Council made multiple decisions regarding water rates and the 2024 budget.
At its October 19 monthly meeting, the Allendale County Council approved the final reading of a new budget, raised water rates and voted to bring a mental health vehicle to the county.
Additionally, the council also met with former county administrator Bert O’Rear, whose employment with the county was terminated in June without explanation.
2023-24 Budget
The county is currently in a financial crunch, as acknowledged by Chief Financial Officer Chanel Lewis during the meeting. At its previous meeting, the council approved a tax anticipation note — a loan that allows local governments to borrow against future tax revenues — of $1.5 million. While these types of loans are commonly used by local governments during periods of low revenue, the county has been struggling financially.
The council unanimously approved the third and final reading of the county’s budget for fiscal year 2024, which is July 1, 2023 -June 30, 2024. During the construction of a budget, departments that work for the county submit requests for their budget. Many of these proposed budgets have been cut back in the most recent draft of the budget, with most of the cuts coming from salaries and benefits. However, the approved budgets for these departments are still higher than fiscal year 2023’s budgets.
For fiscal year 2024, the proposed budget appropriates $10,599,236 for the county’s general fund, $709,934 for fire services and $455,844 for water expenditures. The budget also proposes multiple increases in revenue. Most of these increases come from fines, fees and permits.
Almost all of the requested salary increases for county departments were cut, however, most of the salaries will still be higher than previous years. The council made cuts to salary rates that were requested by the county administration, the voter registration and elections office, the clerk of court, the magistrate, the tax assessor, the treasurer, law enforcement, the coroner, emergency management, emergency medical services, public works and the fire department.
Water rates
The council approved a proposed water rate increase, the first time that water rates have been raised by the county government since 2014. Previously, for those who use less than 1 million gallons of water, the first 10,000 gallons of water that one uses would cost $200 dollars, with every 1,000 gallons of water used after that costing $3.50. Under the new increase, the first 10,000 gallons of water will cost $237, with every 1,000 gallons of water after that costing $2.85.
For those using over 1 million gallons of water, the first 10,000 gallons of water previously cost $437, with every 1,000 gallons after that costing $2.85. Under the new increase, the first 10,000 gallons of water will cost $516, with every 1,000 gallons after that costing $3.50.
Allendale County is responsible for some water distribution within the county, however, the towns of Fairfax and Allendale set their own water rates and have their own water systems.
Councilwoman Willa Jennings also said during the meeting that the county is in discussion with Allendale Fire Chief Franklin Stanley about the fire department’s water capacity and fire hydrant capacity ahead of the new tire plant that is set to begin construction soon.
“Because of this new tire company that’s coming here to the county, our fire department do not have the capabilities to fight large scale fires,” Jennings said. “We can fight small fires in rural areas. We really need to upgrade our fire department and we need to be prepared.”
Mental Health Vehicle
The county also unanimously approved an agreement with Coastal Empire Community Health Center to have a mobile mental health vehicle in the rear parking lot of the Allendale County Department of Social Services (DSS). Coastal Empire is a Beaufort-based mental health center that is part of the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.
At the meeting, Connelly said the vehicle will be at the DSS office in Allendale several times a month for patient appointments.
Gun violence
Councilman James Whitehead, Jr. also discussed new resources to address the gun crisis in Allendale County. Whitehead said he recently attended a South Carolina Committee on Children meeting in Charleston, where he discussed getting resources to address the issue in Allendale.
“It really hits home in our community,” Whitehead said. “This is definitely a public health crisis. It’s not a penal issue. A lot of people are impacted by gun violence in our community, particularly with our young people.”
Executive session
During its executive session, the council discussed hiring an airport manager, the last of which was terminated in June 2023 without explanation. After ending the executive session, the council voted to approve Lonnie Browning as the new airport manager.
The council also had a meeting in executive session with O’Rear and his attorney Denny Major. Since O’Rear’s termination, the council has not given a public explanation as to why he was fired, and the only documentation of O’Rear’s termination revealed in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was a letter informing O’Rear of his termination. Since then, Lewis has been serving as interim county administrator in addition to her role as CFO.
In a statement sent to The People-Sentinel after the October 19 council meeting, O’Rear’s attorney, Denny Major, said that O’Rear was succeeding in his responsibilities as county administrator before his termination.
“The speed and quality in which he accomplished those tasks is evidenced by the fact that County Council entered into a new contract with Mr. O’Rear that increased his salary and extended the term of his contract,” Major said in the statement. “In June, however, County Council terminated Mr. O’Rear ‘for cause’ without further explanation. We continue to feel strongly there was no valid cause for Mr. O’Rear’s termination.”
Council member Connelly declined on behalf of the council to comment on the discussion that took place during executive session.
