Water, sewer, trash rates on the rise in Blackville

At the July 17 Blackville town council meeting, Mayor Ronnie Pernell gave an update on current projects, needs, and incoming funding. This comes after a June 29 budget hearing where the council detailed upcoming price increases in trash and water services in the 2023-24 budget.

“Everything we have done was necessary to make sure the town can continue to function and move forward,” said Mayor Pernell. “The budget is the most important job that we have ...if we don’t have a good solid strong budget, there is no way we can function as a town.”

The budget was unanimously approved on the second and final reading on June 29.

At the July 17 meeting, the council did not have a financial report prepared and did not amend the agenda to reflect this change.

Raising costs

The cost of services are increasing in the Town of Blackville by 15% nearly across the board.

The public utility fee is increasing from $5 to $7. This fee is included on the resident's monthly water and trash bill for the use of public facilities and maintenance.

Mayor Pernell explained when a new home is built or moved to the town, they have to tap into the water and sewer lines to bring services to that residence. The fee to tap into these lines is increasing from $500 to $1,000 per tap installation.

Water fees were set at $17.55 per month and are now increasing to $20.18. This reflects a 15% increase of $2.63. Residential sewer fees will increase the same amount. Residents can expect a $5.26 increase on their monthly bill for water and sewer services.

This increase comes with the acknowledgement by the mayor that the town would benefit from automatic meter readers.

Commercial and industrial sewage fees will also be increasing 15%. Commercial rates were formerly $17.55 and have climbed to $20.18, showing a 15% increase. Industrial sewage fees were previously $250 and are now $287.50, showing a 15% increase as well.

Also increasing will be the cost of trash services. The Town of Blackville recently switched to a new trash company after their former provider ended the contract with the town. With this change also comes a change in pick-up days.

If residents were getting their trash cans picked up on Wednesdays before, they will now be picked up on Thursdays. If cans were being picked up on Thursdays, they will now be picked up on Fridays. Residents are asked to call town hall at (803) 284-2444 with any questions or concerns.

Residential roll carts used to be $17.23 for one cart. The cost is now $28 per roll cart (garbage can). This reflects an over $10 increase.

Commercial roll out carts will increase by $15.86 from $18.14 to $34.

According to Mayor Pernell, the biggest jump in commercial costs are in dumpster services. The cost of servicing small dumpsters will increase $66.88 from $81.12 to $148 for one lift. A large dumpster was previously $124.80 and is now $228, showing an over $100 increase.

“As you see, the biggest cost is on the commercial side with the dumpsters,” said Mayor Pernell.

Regarding property tax, a 3% will be added if the bill goes unpaid by January 15, 2024. An additional 2% increase will be added for each month the property tax goes unpaid.

Also included in this budget are raises for town employees.

“It’s a shame what we pay our police officers, our town workers,” said Mayor Pernell as to why this raise occurred. “We’re paying them peanuts.”

Here's a look at some current projects in the town:

WATER

“When water lines go out, we do a terrible job of notifying the community,” said Mayor Pernell, who is in conversations with companies such as Spectrum looking into an automated system that sends out mass calls or texts to residents.

According to the mayor, water lines/pipes in the ground are degrading due to age and causing leaks to occur. A permanent fix would require grant funding.

“We have some pipes that are very old in the ground,” said Mayor Pernell. “With leaks come repairs, which comes with cost.”

Earlier this year the town received S.C. Infrastructure Investment Program (SCIIP) funding which is allocated to fixing the water treatment center. This funding cannot be used to repair water lines.

“DHEC has always given us a favorable report,” said Mayor Pernell. “Blackville has some of the best water in the area.”

This was met with murmurs from the crowd at the July 17 meeting.

The 2022 Water Quality Report of the Blackville Water System was published in the June 28 edition of The People-Sentinel showing reports from the monitoring period of January 1 to December 31, 2022.

Lead and copper test results sampled in 2021 reflected no violations. These materials were found in the water likely due to erosion of natural deposits; leaching from wood preservations; corrosion of plumbing systems, according to the report.

The action level goal is the level of a contaminant in drinking water. If the level of contaminants found fall below this number, there is no known or expected health risk. The action level is the concentration of the contaminant, “which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.”

The level of copper is compliant with this goal as the action level was found to be 1.3 parts per million – the same as the goal.

The action level goal for lead is zero, and the action level is 15 parts per billion. This is not in violation of state and federal requirements and is due to “corrosion of household plumbing systems” and “erosion of natural deposits,” states the report.

The rest of the report noted no known violations.

The Town of Blackville is currently in conversation with the Town of Hilda which has requested to purchase nearly 100,000 gallons of water per day.

Hilda has requested Blackville construct a water main at no cost to Blackville to connect Hilda residents to.

Mayor Pernell described this as a “great revenue source” for the town and is currently looking at viable locations for a connection point.

“It doesn't cost the town any money,” said Mayor Pernell.

The main conflict with this is the houses located between the Town of Blackville and the Town of Hilda as constructing a main water line would require extensive construction.

TOWN HALL

The town has received $2 million from the state toward constructing the new town hall building.

A location is currently being sought with assistance from the Blackville Downtown Development Association and the Lower Savannah Council of Governments through the S.C. Best Program.

HOUSING

Mayor Pernell described housing as “one of the more challenging areas we have in the town.”

Some key issues in this challenge include finding funding to construct new homes and housing complexes.

According to Mayor Pernell, investors interested in building housing have reached out to him but find the cost to be too high to begin developing land.

The Blackville Town Council is working with the Blackville Community Development Corporation (CDC) to find solutions to these issues and navigate the red tape.

Goals with housing include increasing home ownership and decreasing homelessness.

OTHER REPAIRS

The mayor noted more improvements needed in the town such as landscaping and road repairs.

Street signs are another point of concern. Mayor Pernell explained how many street signs are “still in bad shape,” describing it as embarrassing.

“We do have to do a better job,” said Mayor Pernell.

Dilapidated buildings are another concern. Mayor Pernell said this problem could be curbed with hiring a code enforcement officer. Filling this position would also aid in animal control related issues in the town.

Mayor Pernell’s goals

“Downtown Blackville was the hotspot many, many years ago,” said Mayor Pernell. “We’re trying to make it a hotspot again.”

Mayor Pernell outlined three major goals he entered office with and still maintains.

The first is collaborating for more businesses to come downtown through renovations.

Mayor Pernell explained the town is on the menu to receive $500,000 from the state for this facelift. This money has been secured by his lobbyists and will be received by the town later this year, according to the mayor.

Councilman Enterick Lee inquired about this funding to which Mayor Pernell responded, “It was confirmed by my lobbyists.”

The People-Sentinel reached out for further documentation on this funding. Mayor Pernell explained it was confirmed verbally by his lobbyists.

Mayor Pernell also hopes to increase activities for the youth and senior citizens. This includes initiatives like Independence Day celebrations and continuing to ramp up the recreation department.

“We want to keep Blackville on the map,” he said.

Another goal is regarding crime management.

“Blackville has been plagued with crime for the past many years, so we wanted to establish a strong police force and I think we are doing that,” said Mayor Pernell.

At the July 17 meeting, Blackville Police Chief Ray Crawford thanked the council for all they do to assist the police department.

“You all found a way to help my guys out,” said Chief Crawford. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

When Chief Crawford first came to the Blackville Police Department (BPD), they had three certified officers. They now have seven.

“Our police are doing an awesome job,” said Mayor Pernell. “Since I’ve been mayor, every major crime that has been committed has been solved.”

Mayor Pernell and council commend the department, but still hope to strengthen their relationship with the community to build better trust.

“Anything I do is not to hurt Blackville,” said Mayor Pernell, who is a Blackville native with family still in the area.

“When I first got here, I heard about all the complaints. About what the town looked like, what the crime is like, what the facilities are like. Now we are trying to fix all these things, I’m still hearing complaints,” said Mayor Pernell. “Trust me. Nothing that I am doing here is to hurt the town.”

After being asked during public comment, the mayor disclosed he makes $400 per month from this public official position and ensured the community he and the council are not in their seats for the money.