No. 3 (Nov. 2015) - South Carolina Association of Counties

Transcription

Number 3
Volume 26
SCAC Elects
John Q. Atkinson, Jr.
President
Patricia S. Hartley
Receives
President’s Cup
Barnwell County
Wins 2015 J. Mitchell Graham
Memorial Award
Spartanburg County
Wins 2015 Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
Regional Cooperation Award
2015-16 SCAC OFFICERS
President
Marion County Council Member
First Vice President
Julie J. Armstrong
Charleston County Clerk of Court
CONTENTS
Second Vice President
Ronald Young
Aiken County Council Chairman
Third Vice President
Henry H. Livingston III
Newberry County Council Chairman
Immediate Past President
James R. Frazier
Horry County Council Member
Secretary
F. Pickens Williams, Jr.
Barnwell County Administrator
Treasurer
Belinda D. Copeland
Darlington County Treasurer
Date of Issue: November 2015
2
SCAC Elects John Q. Atkinson, Jr. President
3
SCAC Elects Other Officers
6
The 2015 J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition
16
Barnwell County Wins 2015 J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award for Designing and Building
the Power Wagon, a Unique Mobile Charging Station for Emergencies
By W. Stuart Morgan III
26
Spartanburg County Wins 2015 Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Award for
Partnering with Numerous Entities to Develop and Promote a Program to Help the County’s
Growing 50+ Population
41
The Halloween Edition of Risk Management: Don’t be Tricked!
By Pam S. Collins, ARM
Program Coordinator, SCCWCT and SCCP&LT
44
SCAC Hosts 48th Annual Conference (Photo Essay)
60
From Panhandling to Robocalls: Content-Neutral Regulations After Reed v. Town of Gilbert
By Amanda Keller, Legal Advocacy Director, IMLA
65
Patricia S. Hartley Receives President’s Cup
68
Twenty-Eight County Officials Graduate from the Institute of Government for County Officials
70
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of S.C. Clerks to Council Certification Program
SCCP&LT Claims Manager
John V. Jervey, AIC
75
Laurens County Receives Golden Palmetto Award
Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager
Lang K. Kohel, ARM
77
A Roadside Guide to Sumter, County Seat of Sumter County
By Alexia Jones Helsley
80
County Update
SCAC Staff
Executive Director
Michael B. Cone
Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel
Robert E. Lyon, Jr.
Deputy General Counsel
Robert S. Croom
Assistant General Counsel
Timothy C. Winslow
Staff Attorneys
John K. DeLoache
Owen A. McBride
James F. Knox
Joshua C. Rhodes
M. Kent Lesesne
Alexander W. Smith
Public Information Director
W. Stuart Morgan III
Director of Insurance Services
Robert C. Collins, CPCU, CIC
Director of Risk Management Services
John D. Henderson, ARM, ALCM
Risk Manager, SCCWCT and SCCP&LT
Robert E. Benfield, ARM
Pam S. Collins, ARM
Controller
H. Warren Counts, Jr., CPA
Director of Research and Training
Anna B. Berger
Special Projects Coordinator
Leslie M. Christy-Jennings
Senior Research Associate
Susan B. Turkopuls
Director of Administrative Services
Nilda A. Padgett
Deputy Director of Administrative Services
Tish F. Anderson
Special Program Coordinator
S. Ruthie Duvall
Special Program Assistant Coordinator
Sharon D. Berkowitz
Administrative Assistants
Dana T. Homesley
Pearlena A. Khalif-Govan
Mary E. Williams
Field Representative
Rick K. Ucinski
Assistant Program Coordinator
SCCWCT and SCCP&LT
Susan L. Chambers
IT/Procurement Director
Robert J. Lyon, CPM, CPPB
Webmaster
Jennifer M. Haworth
COVER PHOTOS: SCAC’s newly-elected president, John Q. Atkinson, Jr. (Marion County Council
Member); Patricia S. Hartley, Horry County’s Clerk to Council, accepting this year’s President’s
Cup; SHOWING BARNWELL COUNTY’S NEWLY-WON J. MITCHELL GRAHAM MEMORIAL
AWARD—(See photo, P. 20. Article begins on P. 16); Spartanburg County officials gather for photo after
receiving this year’s Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Award on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at
SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference: (front row, l to r) Katherine O’Neill, County Administrator; Kristie
Oliver, Recreation Coordinator, and Marcia Murff, Public Relations and Development Manager, Parks
Department; Jane Hall, Council Vice Chairman; Hope Blackley, Clerk of Court; (back row, l to r) Bob
Walker, Council Member; Jeffrey A. Horton, Council Chairman; Michael D. Brown, Council Member;
Roger Nutt, Justin T. Bradley, Council Members; Jim Hipp, Deputy County Administrator; and Maj.
Neal Urch, Sheriff’s Department. (See article, P. 26) (Photos by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus Magazine is published quarterly by the
South Carolina Association of Counties
P.O. Box 8207
Columbia, SC 29202-8207
(803) 252-7255
FAX: (803) 252-0379
W. Stuart Morgan III, Editor
Copyright is by the South Carolina Association of Counties. All rights reserved. No portion of the
contents may be published or reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
SCAC Elects
President
T
session.”
he South Carolina Association of
Atkinson, Senior Vice PresCounties elected officers for 2015–16 at
ident of Pee Dee Federal Savits 48th Annual Conference, held Aug.
ings Bank since 1991, has served
2–5. The SCAC also reelected five board
on Marion County Council
members.
since 1989. He served as CounElected PRESIDENT was Marion
cil Chairman from 2008 to 2010
County Council Member John Q. Atand as Council Vice Chairman
kinson, Jr. He replaces Horry County
from 1994 to 2007.
Council Member James R. Frazier, who
Atkinson previously worked
served as SCAC President for 2014–15.
for Farm Chemical and Fertil“It is an honor for me to be elected as
President
of the As“It is an honor for me to be elected as President
sociation
of the Association of Counties for the coming year.
of CounUnder the outstanding leadership of James Frazier,
ties for the
we have completed another challenging year. I look
coming
year,” said
forward to serving the Association, its members and
John Q.
directors.”
Atkinson,
— SCAC President John Q. Atkinson, Jr.
(Marion County Council Member)
Jr., Marion County
iizer Sales
S l from
f
t 1980,
1980
1976 to
Council Member.
“Under
the outstandb “U
d th
tt d
Production Credit Association
ing leadership of James Frazier, we have
C
President
President John Q. Atkinson,
A
Jr.
Jrr. (Marion County
(Farm Credit) from 1980 to SCAC
completed another challenging year. I
1985, and South Carolina Na- Council Member) speaks at the Association’s 2015 Anlook forward to serving this Association,
tional Bank from 1985 to 1991. nual Conference shortly after taking office. (Photo by
its members and directors.
He has served as a member Stuart Morgan)
“This year, while we marked the
of the Board of Directors for
40th anniversary of Home Rule, we were
2013. He first served as a member of
the Pee Dee Regional Council of Gov- SCAC’s Board of Directors from 1991 to
challenged on several fronts from funding
ernments since 1994 and as its secretary 1995, and was reelected to serve in 2012.
of local governments to roads and infraand treasurer since 2012; as a member
structure,” Atkinson added. “Now more
Atkinson received his Bachelor of
of the Pee Dee Regional Development Science degree in Business Administrathan ever, we must work together as the
Board since 1994; and as a member of tion from The Citadel in 1976. He also
leaders of our communities to achieve our
the Northeastern Strategic Alliance since graduated from East Carolina Comcommon goal of true local Home Rule.
2008. Atkinson also served as a member mercial Lending School in 1987, the S.C.
I will be calling on SCAC’s members in
of the Pee Dee Regional Revolving Loan Bankers Association Banking School in
the coming months as we develop our
Fund Review Committee from 2007 to
(See SCAC President, P. 4)
legislative agenda for the 2016 legislative
2
Volume 26, Number 3
SCAC Elects Other Officers
First
Vice President
Second
Vice President
Third
Vice President
Immediate
Past President
R Frazier
Julie JJ. Armstrong
Ronald Young Henry
nry H.
H Livingston III
II James R.
Horry County
Charleston County
Aiken County
Newberry County
Council Member
Clerk of Court
Council Chairman
Council Chairman
T
he SCAC elected other officers as follows: First Vice
President—Julie J. Armstrong, Charleston County Clerk
of Court; Second Vice President—Ronnie Young, Aiken County Council Chairman; Third Vice President—Henry
H. Livingston III, Newberry County Council Chairman;
Secretary—F. Pickens Williams, Jr., Barnwell County Ad-
Secretary
Treasurer
elinda D.
D Copeland
J Belinda
F. Pickens Williams
Williams, Jr.
Darlington County
Barnwell County
Treasurer
Administrator
ministrator; and Treasurer—Belinda D. Copeland, Darlington County Treasurer. James R. Frazier, Horry County
Council Member, will serve as Immediate Past President.
Q
SCAC Presidents
2015
Marion County
2014
James R. Frazier
Horry County
2013
Joseph R. Branham
Chester County
2012
Charles T. Edens
Sumter County
2011
Joseph B. Dill
Greenville County
2010
R. Carlisle Roddey
Chester County
2009
Diane B. Anderson
Laurens County
2008
L. Gregory Pearce, Jr.
Richland County
2007
K.G. “Rusty” Smith, Jr.
Florence County
2006
Belinda D. Copeland
Darlington County
2004-05 Waymon Mumford
Florence County
2004
Barrett S. Lawrimore
Charleston County
2003
Gonza L. Bryant
Greenwood County
2002
James A. Coleman
Laurens County
2001
Steve S. Kelly, Jr.
Kershaw County
2000
James H. Rozier, Jr.
Berkeley County
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
Polly C. Jackson
Lancaster County
Robert R. Nash, Sr.
Pickens County
Alzena Robinson
Bamberg County
Betty T. Roper
Clarendon County
George E. Bomar
Greenville County
Raymond C. Eubanks, Jr.
Spartanburg County
William L. McBride
Beaufort County
Belle J. Kennette
Greenwood County
James R. McGee
Orangeburg County
Kenneth R. Huckaby
Spartanburg County
Lowell C. (Butch) Spires
Lexington County
David K. Summers, Jr.
Calhoun County
Danny E. Allen
Spartanburg County
O.V. Player, Jr.
Sumter County
Sue H. Roe
Aiken County
Charlie I. Crews
Hampton County
1983
James P. Whitlock
Pickens County
1982
Lonnie Hamilton III
Charleston County
1981
Alfred B. Schooler
Georgetown County
1980
Howard A. Taylor
Charleston County
1979
Marjorie H. Sharpe
Lexington County
1978
Berry L. Mobley
Lancaster County
1977
E.E. Johnson
Hampton County
1976
Harold L. King
Darlington County
1975
Jack Q. Gerrald
Horry County
1974
Arthur H. Burton
Charleston County
1973
James O. Thomason
Spartanburg County
1972
J. Hugh McCutchen
Williamsburg County
1971
John L. Greer
Union County
1969-70 J. Mitchell Graham
Charleston County
1967-68 Charles W. Lawrimore
Georgetown County
County Focus
3
SCAC President ...
Purpose
of the SCAC
(Continued from P. 2)
1992, and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in 1997.
Atkinson has been a member of the
Marion Rotary Club since 1993, and
served as president from 1997 to 1998. In
2012, he was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by The Rotary Foundation of
Rotary International.
Atkinson is a member of Marion
First United Methodist Church and
Uncle Charlie’s Hut Sunday School Class.
OTo promote more efficient
county governments
OTo study, discuss and
recommend improvements
in government
OTo investigate and provide
means for the exchange of
ideas and experiences
between county officials
NACo UNITES AMERICA’S
3,069 COUNTIES
OTo promote and encourage
education of county
officials
OTo collect, analyze and
distribute information
about county government
OTo cooperate with other
organizations
OTo promote legislation
which supports efficient
administration of local
government in South
Carolina
* For more information
ADVOCATING for counties
before Congress and the
Administration
PROVIDING solutions for
cost-savings, efficiency
and quality services
ENRICHING public
awareness of county
government
EXCHANGING ideas and
building new skills
about the SCAC, please
contact:
South Carolina
Association of Counties
P.O. Box 8207
1919 Thurmond Mall
(803) 252-7255
smorgan@scac.sc
4
Volume 26, Number 3
www.NACo.org
888.407.NACo (6226)
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of COUNTIES
STRONGER COUNTIES.
STRONGER AMERICA.
SCAC Reelects Five Board Members
to Four-Year Terms
(2016-19)
The SCAC reelected the following
five SCAC Board Members to four-year
terms (2016-19): Diane B. Anderson,
Laurens County Council Member; Donald E. Hancock, Saluda County Council
Chairman; Henry E. (Sel) Hemingway,
Jr., Georgetown County Administrator;
Lois H. Roddey, Chester County Probate Judge; and Steve Willis, Lancaster
County Administrator.
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for decades to come.
* Projected by 2020
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of solar energy.
By 2020, we’ll have nearly tripled our use off
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The 2015 J. Mitchell Graham/
Barrett Lawrimore
Memorial Awards Competition
Barnwell County
Winner of the 2015 J. Mitchell Graham
Memorial Award
M
T
he J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition
was held on Sunday, Aug. 2, at the 48th
Annual Conference of the South Carolina
Association of Counties (Aug. 2-5).
Counties, which competed equally
for the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial
Award, were grouped in the following
population categories:
O Under 50,000
O50,000 to 150,000 and
OGreater than 150,000.
Barnwell County Wins
2015 J. Mitchell Graham
Memorial Award
Barnwell County won SCAC’s 2015
J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award
for constructing the Power Wagon—a
small, towable trailer that can operate in
the field during emergencies to charge
emergency communication tools, boost
cell phone signals, and allow the public to
charge communication devices, including
cell phones, where and when needed. (See
story, P. 16)
“After the historic winter storm of
6
Volume 26, Number 3
2014 and a train derailment in a neighboring county in 2015 threatened the
health, safety and well-being of local residents, Barnwell County officials recognized that they needed to find a solution
to boost cell phone signals, and to power
phones and other communication devices
when power is lost for an extended period
See South Carolina
County Map,
Page 87
during major emergencies,” said Robert
H. Becker, Ph.D., the head judge of the
three-judge panel evaluating entries in
(See Competition, P. 8)
JUDGES FOR THE
E THIS YEAR’S J.
J MITCHELL GRAHAM/BARRETT
GR
RAHAM/BARRETT LAWRIMORE
A
MEME MORIAL AWARDS COMPETITION—(l to r) William E. Tomes, Fellow, Joseph P. Riley Jr.
Center for Livable Communities, College of Charleston; Paula E. Sanford, Ph.D., Public Service
and Outreach Faculty Member, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia; and
Head Judge—Robert H. Becker, Ph.D., Fellow and Senior Scholar, Strom Thurmond Institute
of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
Award-Winning Presentations
Presenting their award-winning presentations at the 2015 J. Mitchell
Graham Memorial Award Competition on Sunday, Aug. 2, are:
BAR
BARNWELL
COUNTY—Roger Riley, Barnwell County Emergen
gency Management Director, presents his county’s entry, which
won
on this year’s J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award.
Photos by
Stuart Morgan
³
ORANGEBURG
R
COUNTY—Harold M.
M Young
You
oung
n ((at podium)
podium), Or
Or-angeburg County Administrator, and William Metts, Orangeburg
County Project Engineer, present their county’s entry, which won
an honorable mention in the category for counties with populations
ranging from 50,000 to 150,000.
³
ANDERSON
ANDER
RSON C
COUNTY—Angie
OUNTY—Angie String
Stringer,
ger,
r
Anderson County Communications Director, and Matthew Schell (at podium), Anderson County Parks & Recreation Manager,
present their county’s entry, which won an
honorable mention in the category for counties with populations greater than 150,000.
JASPER COUNTY—(l to r) Russell W. Wells,
Jasper County Deputy Fire Chief; Wilbur
A. Daley, Fire Chief; and Andrew Fulghum,
County Administrator (at podium) present
their county’s winning entry, which won an
honorable mention in the category for counties with populations under 50,000.
County Focus
7
Competition ...
Wagon—a mobile charging unit, which
is completely self-contained, that can
operate in the field in blackout conditions. The program to construct the
unit—consisting of students at the career
center who served as integral members
of the project team along with teachers
and county personnel—is so replicable.
It’s a remarkable program, which demonstrates local ingenuity by young hands
and demonstrates intergenerational
community building at its best.”
ing & Events Center on Lake Hartwell.
“Anderson County has access and
acreage on some of the finest freshwater
resources in the South,” Dr. Becker said.
this year’s J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett
“Lake Hartwell, in the upper Savannah
Lawrimore Memorial Awards CompetiBasin, has gained a national reputation
tion.
as one of the premier spots of stripe Bass
“When it became clear that off-thefisheries. Recognizing the lake as a natushelf solutions were not readily available
ral advantage for producing economic
and certainly not as a complete package,
energy, the county cobbled together
they found a solution that is elegant in
funds from a PCB settlement fund, water
its simplicity,” Dr. Becker added. “The
recreation and sport fishery funds, as well
county’s emergency department and the
as county transportation funds, among
county’s career center undertook the
others, to build Green Pond Landing
task to plan, design and build the Power
& Events Center, a world-class lake access facility. The fully
ADA-compliant facility
includes multi-access
ramps engineered to
accommodate the historic Lake Hartwell
water level with ancillary event parking and
support facilities.”
Sport fishing, especially tournament competitions, attracts large
audiences and international notoriety. Much
like champion-quality
golf courses, they also
attract visitors and inmigrant retirees.
For example,
BARNWELL COUNTY WINS 2015 J. MITCHELL GRAHAM MEMORIAL AWARD—Accepting this year’s
SCAC’s J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award on Tuesday, Aug. 4 are (l to r) Barnwell County Emergency Man- Green Pond Landing &
agement Director Roger Riley, County Administrator F. Pickens Williams, Jr., Council Chairman David Kenner Events Center held its
and Council Member Charles Lowell Jowers, Sr. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
Grand Opening event,
the 45th Bassmaster
HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS
Honorable Mentions Awarded to
Outdoors Expo, from Feb. 20 to 22 (the
Anderson, Orangeburg and
World Series of competitive fishing) that
Jasper Counties
is estimated to have had an economic
Anderson County Orangeburg County
impact of $23 to $24 million for the Up(50,000 to 150,000 Pop.)
(Greater than
Anderson,
Orangeburg
and
Jasper
state. (Tournament weigh-in and expo
150,000 Pop.)
counties won Honorable Mentions.
were held in Greenville). With more than
/Anderson County
17 fishing tournaments already on the
In the largest category for counties
books through mid-2016, and the lure
with populations over 150,000, Ansuch tournaments garner for aquaticderson Countyy
based businesses, destination tourism and
won an Honretirement/second home expansions, the
orable Menfacility is expected to become the tipping
tion
for
creatpoint in the development of Lake HartJasper
County
ing a regional
well, the region’s freshwater resource.
See
(Under
economic enSouth Carolina
50,000 Pop.)
gine for the
/Orangeburg County
County Map,
Upstate
by
using
funds
from
different
In the category for counties with
Page 87
sources to construct Green Pond Landpopulations between 50,000 and 150,000,
8
Volume 26, Number 3
Orangeburg County won an Honorable
Mention for providing broadband service to a rural population in a veryy large
g
area of the county that had
not been served by private
industry.
“Orangeburg County
understands the challenge
of meeting the needs and
providing services to a rural
population spread over a
very large area,” Dr. Becker said. “The
county also has a stellar record of effectively using a Capital Projects Sales Tax
to meet those needs, and of
engaging the citizens to arrive at locally-appropriate
solutions.
“Recognizing the need
to provide broadband service to the community that
had not been served by
private industry, the county competed
for and received one of only two South
Carolina ARRA (American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act) broadband grants
valued at approximately $19 million,”
he added. “Realizing that simply laying
county broadband along roadways would
not be effective, Orangeburg County then
went the extra mile and ran connections
to homes, schools and businesses.”
House Bill 3508, which prevented
Online Video Library of the
2015 J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore
The SCAC is pleased to announce an online video library of the J. Mitchell
Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition that was held in
conjunction with the Association’s 48th Annual Conference. The award presentations are available
via streaming video on the SCAC website at:
http://www.sccounties.org/awards
The Association is grateful to Beaufort County and the Beaufort County Channel for providing video
production resources. As a result of this partnership, all county officials are able to learn from the
innovative ideas and solutions that were presented during the competition.
2015 J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition, Sunday, Aug. 2 (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
9
government from entering the broadband
business in competition
with private providers,
became a hurdle for the
county’s project to extend broadband service.
“Arguing that few
private providers were
willing to undertake
service to rural areas,”
Dr. Becker said, “Orangeburg County—with
help from the local delegation—sought and
received an exemption
to overcome the hurdle.
Then, using its Capital
Project Sales Tax, the
county provided the
needed match to comRECOGNIZING ABBEVILLE COUNTY, LAST YEAR’S WINNER OF THE J. MITCHELL GRAHAM MEMOplete the project.
RIAL AWARD—SCAC President James R. Frazier (third from right), assisted by Waymon Mumford (at podium)
“The effort,” he present a small replica of the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award to Abbeville County officials that recognizes
added, “is shifting the the county winning the award in 2014. Accepting the award for permanent display at home are (l to r) Abbeville
rural area within Or- County Director David Porter, and Council Members John T. Calhoun, James P. McCord and Claude Thomas.
angeburg County from (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
one of the least conwon an Honorable Mention
cant tax increases, which
nected places in South Carolina to one
for addressing fire service
was not a popular or likely
of the best connected rural areas in the
option,” Dr. Becker said.
problems often seen in rural
state, a designation that is already gaining
“So, to address the isareas and finding solutions
dividends with new business locations.”
sue, county emergency
to save county residents a
leaders and administrasignificant amount of money.
/ Jasper County
tion carefully evaluated
“The easy solution
In the category for counties with
deficiencies identified by
populations under 50,000, Jasper County would have involved signifiInsurance Service Office
(ISO) evaluations and developed a plan
of action. To deliver an affordable option,
the plan involved deploying tanker trucks
throughout the county for effective fire
coverage, and purchasing five refurbished
tanker trucks. These trucks are serviced
by a series of strategically deployed water
INC.
storage tanks at a tremendous cost savings.
PrintSouth
ntSo
So th Printing,
South
Pri
Printi
ting
ing
g Inc.
In
“By doing so,” he added, “the county
saved residents significant dollars by reducing the ISO Public Protection Class
Featuring Offset Printing with multicolor capabilities
Rating from a split class 5/9 rating to a
and Digital Printing for faster turnarounds.
class 4 rating. As reported in The Jasper
County Sun Times, a homeowner’s insur1114 Silstar Road, West Columbia, SC 29170
ance for a $300,000 home, under the class
Phone 803.796-2619 Fax 803.796-2744
9 rating, cost $1,623. But under the new
class 4 rating, a homeowner’s insurance
and online at myprintsouth.com
cost $1,209, saving the homeowner $414
per year.”
We Make
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10
Volume 26, Number 3
WINNER OF THE
BARRETT LAWRIMORE MEMORIAL
REGIONAL COOPERATION AWARD
Spartanburg County
Sp
Spartanburg County’s
Award-Winning Presentation
Spartanburg County officials present their county’s entry at the 2015
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Award Competition
on Sunday, Aug. 2 and gather for a group photo immediately afterward.
See
South Carolina
County Map,
Page 87
Spartanburg County Wins
2015 Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
Spartanburg County won the 2015
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional
Cooperation Award for partnering
with numerous towns,
foundations,
school districts and regional health
centers to develop and promote a comprehensive
program to
retain and attract retirees.
The program,
featuring an
integrated
system of service, focuses
on providing a
superior quality of life.
“This program, for example, targets
residents 50 years of age and older with a
philosophy that healthy lifestyles learned
early will benefit them as they age,” Dr.
Becker said. “Entitled ‘Very Special
People, Very Special Places’ or ‘VSP’ for
short, the program has attracted more
than 100 agencies and organizations so
far.
County Focus
11
“The VSP centers
and their programs
provide activities as diverse as fitness trails to
cooking and nutrition,”
he added. “The range
of activities and sites
has this year’s winner
well-positioned to be
what AARP (American
Association of Retired
Persons) refers to as ‘an
age-friendly community.’ With the dramatic
in-migration of retirees
to South Carolina, the
acclaimed VSP program
will produce dividends
for adults 50 years of
age and older and for the
entire community.”
Judges
SPARTANBURG COUNTY WINS 2015 BARRETT LAWRIMORE MEMORIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
AWARD—Accepting this year’s Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Award on Tuesday, Aug.
4 are: (l to r) Kristie Oliver and Marcia Murff, Spartanburg County Parks Department; Spartanburg County
Council Member Jane Hall; Council Chairman Jeff Horton; Council Members Justin Bradley, Roger Nutt, Michael Brown and Bob Walker; and County Administrator Katherine O’Neill and Deputy County Administrator
Jim Hipp. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
Serving as judges
for this year’s competition were: Head
Judge Robert H. Becker, Ph.D., Fellow
and Senior Scholar, Strom Thurmond
Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University; Paula E. Sanford, Ph.D., Public Service and Outreach
Faculty Member, Carl Vinson Institute of
Government, University of Georgia; and
William E. Tomes, Fellow, Joseph P. Riley
Jr. Center for Livable Communities, College of Charleston.
Other Entities Recognized for
Competing in the
2015 J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett
Lawrimore Memorial Awards
Competition
On Thursday, Aug. 4, during the
General Session for SCAC’s Annual
Conference, Dr. Becker briefly described
the 19 entries that were submitted in this
year’s competition as plaques were presented to representatives of each county
that participated.
The following descriptions are provided only for those entities that did not
win:
J. Mitchell Graham Memorial
Award Competition
QCharleston County—In 2011, the
12
Volume 26, Number 3
American Bar Association Commission
on Law and Aging selected the Charleston County Probate Court as one of two
courts nationwide for a pilot program
envisioned to be a long-term method for
courts to better oversee adult guardianships. The court is training a group of
students from the Charleston School of
Law to serve as Court Visitors to assist
in monitoring guardians to ensure the
protection of the well-being and financial
status of incapacitated persons.
QChesterfield County—Chesterfield
County, in partnership with the 4th Judicial Circuit Solicitor and Public Defender,
created an incentive-based program
entitled “It Pays To Save” to attack the
chronic issue of jail overcrowding. A portion of the savings, if any, from a more
efficient disposition of pending criminal
cases is shared among the county, the
solicitor, and the public defender. While
saving Chesterfield County taxpayers
money, the program serves as a tool to
eradicate the legal maxim, “justice delayed is justice denied.”
QL exington County—Lexington
County identified the need to address
the increasing costs associated with rising
medical insurance claims. The goal was to
contain costs to lower the county’s medical inflation trend, and consequently the
costs to employer and employee portions
of medical insurance. With this goal in
mind, the county began an 18-month journey toward the opening of the Lexington
County Employee Health and Wellness
Center.
QSpartanburg County—The Spartanburg County Detention Center implemented an inmate behavior management process with the goal of reducing
recidivism. The county is the first in the
state to develop a restorative justice system including prevention, accountability
and restoration while returning inmates
back to the community. Using graduated
responses to inmate behavior, the number
of officer/inmate assaults has decreased
causing the facility’s safety to increase.
QYork County—York County proposed the state’s first Capital Project
Sales Tax Program in 1997 to improve
roads throughout the county. Since 1997,
voters have approved this tax on three
different occasions. When combined
with other federal and state grants, the
program has provided a total of $645
million worth of roadway improvements
including gravel road paving, bridge
replacements and repair, intersection
improvements and interstate lane additions.
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional
Cooperation Competition
QGeorgetown County, Horry County
and Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments—In partnership with Horry
County, Georgetown County and other
stakeholders, the Waccamaw Regional
Council of Governments developed a
watershed plan to protect the Murrells
Inlet estuary. Deemed as a Shellfish
Harvesting Area Water, the estuary is
valued by the community as an environmental, economic and social asset. The
watershed project team identified and
recommended numerous management
strategies to reduce fecal bacteria loads
and to improve water quality in Murrells
Inlet.
QHorry County, Local Municipalities
and Other Regional Stakeholders—After
the 2014 Atlantic Beach Memorial Day
Bikefest, local governments and various
community stakeholders formed a task
force to identify the major issues and
find solutions to make the event safer.
As evidenced by the success of the 2015
event, the results of this effort were nothing short of exceptional. This regional
task force will continue to work together
(See Competition, P. 14)
Winners of the
Barnwell County
Abbeville County
Newberry County
Colleton County
Horry County
Orangeburg County
Georgetown County
Lexington County
Greenwood County
Newberry County
Georgetown County
Lexington County
Orangeburg County
Anderson County
Anderson County
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Horry County
York County
Aiken County
Georgetown County
Berkeley County
Florence County
Richland County
Charleston County
York County
Greenwood County
Beaufort County
Charleston County
Spartanburg County
Beaufort County
Aiken County
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
Greenwood County
Union County
Greenville County
Chester County
Chesterfield County
York County
Beaufort County
Oconee County
Richland County
Beaufort County and
Greenwood County
Edgefield County
Lexington County
Charleston County
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
Winners of the Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
W
Spartanburg County
Abbeville, Anderson, Barnwell and Jasper Counties
Lexington and Richland Counties
Beaufort and Jasper Counties
Western Piedmont Regional Emergency Management Task Force
(Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood, Oconee and Pickens Counties)
Greenwood County and GLEAMNS
(Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood, Oconee and Pickens Counties)
Beaufort/Hampton/Jasper Counties
Berkeley/Charleston/Dorchester Counties
Florence/Georgetown/Horry Counties
Sumter/Lee Counties
Anderson County Partnership
Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority
2015
2014
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
1999
County Focus
13
Support the
South Carolina
Association of Counties ...
... and receive the following benefits as a:
Sponsor ($250 per year):
OSCAC’s County Focus Magazine, Carolina Counties Newsletter and annual
Directory of County Officials
ORecognition in SCAC’s County Focus Magazine, annual Directory of County Officials and Annual Conference Program
OAn invitation to register at the group rate to attend SCAC’s Annual Conference each year, and
OAn exhibitors’ notice around April 1 each year that provides an opportunity on a “first-come, first-served” basis to lease exhibit space at SCAC’s
Annual Conference.
As a Patron ($1,000 per year), you will also receive:
OA complimentary registration for one delegate to attend SCAC’s Annual
Conference
O Two complimentary tickets to attend the Association’s Annual Conference Banquet, and
OGreater recognition in SCAC’s County Focus Magazine, annual Directory
of County Officials and Annual Conference Program.
For more information about the SCAC or to join, please contact:
South Carolina
Attn.: Public Information Director
P.O. Box 8207
Columbia, S.C. 29202-8207
(803) 252-7255
E-mail: smorgan@scac.sc
14
Volume 26, Number 3
Competition ...
and plan for another successful Memorial
Day Weekend in 2016.
QLancaster County, City of Lancaster
and Town of Waxhaw—Lancaster County’s mission statement is to be a great
place to live, learn, work, worship, play
and raise a family. This year the county
facilitated its mission by working together with two municipalities and other
partners on healthy living opportunities
for citizens. One project involved working with the City of Lancaster to obtain
ownership of a town pool that was to be
closed. The other project involved the
expansion of the Carolina Thread Trail
to the Town of Waxhaw, N.C., connecting
South Carolina and North Carolina with
a suspension bridge.
QMarion County and Regional Stakeholders—In 2013, Marion County Council introduced the concept of inclusion
for county government. The planning
department adopted this idea and one
word emerged to change the county
and the state forever—iMpact (Igniting
Marion’s Power: Attaining Countywide
Transformation). iMpact, comprised of
governmental and faith-based organizations, has transitioned from a concept
to an organization. The organization’s
mission is to advance Marion County’s
businesses and citizens, and to enhance
the region’s economic growth. iMpact
catapulted Marion from last position to
a position of leadership in less than nine
months.
O N T I M E . O N B U D G E T. O N YO U R S I D E .
F
rom the hills in the Upstate to the sands of the Lowcountry,
Alliance Consulting Engineers, Inc., assists South Carolina counties
by listening to their needs and delivering a product that exceeds
expectations. At Alliance Consulting Engineers, Inc., our clients are our
highest priority. Through innovative project delivery methods, focus on
quality, and unparalleled responsiveness, we help bring vision into reality.
• Industrial Park Master Planning & Design
• Roadway Design
• Water & Wastewater Planning & Design
• Railway Design
• Solid Waste Management
• Site Certification
• Stormwater Management
• Grant Application
• Land Planning & Site Design
• Construction Management
www.allianceCE.com
Bluffton, SC | Charleston, SC | Charlotte, NC | Columbia, SC | Greenville, SC
Barnwell County
Wins 2015 J. Mitchell Graham
Memorial Award
For Designing and Building the Power Wagon, a
Unique Mobile Charging Station for Emergencies
B
arnwell County won the 2015 J. Mitchell
Graham Memorial Award on Tuesday,
Aug. 4, at the 48th Annual Conference of
the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) for constructing a unique
mobile charging station called the “Power
Wagon.”
The small, towable trailer can operate
in the field during emergencies to chargee
c
emergency communication tools, boost cell
gee mophone signals, and allow the public to charge
“Alerting the public with critical information
regarding pending emergency situations ... as well
as how to access survivor resources in the aftermath
of the disaster, is paramount to a ‘whole community’ emergency response approach.”
Photo by WSM
— Roger Riley
Barnwell County Emergency Management Director
Barnwell County
Roger Riley
16
bile communication devices—including cell
bile
phon
n and tablets—where and when needed.
phones
“
“Ensuring
public safety in a world of everincreasing th
threats can be an almost insurmountable
task and not just in Barnwell County,” said Roger Riley, Barnwell County Emergency Management Director. “Alerting the
public with critical information regarding pending emergency
situations such as how to protect themselves and their families
during a disaster, unsafe areas to avoid, inherent health and
safety concerns, as well as how to access survivor resources in
the aftermath of the disaster, is paramount to a ‘whole community’ emergency response approach.
“Tremendous advances in communication technology and
the prevalence
of social meWinner of the 2015 J. Mitchell Graham
dia have transMemorial Award
formed the world
into a much
smaller place,”
Riley added,
“making ‘real
time’ communication not only a
convenience, but
more and more
of a necessity especially during
See South Carolina
disaster situaCounty Map,
tions.”
Page 87
Volume 26, Number 3
The Power Wagon is the product of one of the lessons that
Barnwell County officials, emergency service professionals and
first responders learned after Winter Storm Pax of 2014 and
the CSX train derailment in 2015 in neighboring Allendale
County threatened the health, safety and well-being of local
residents. In after action reviews following both emergencies,
that problem became obvious: It was necessary to prevent
“communication breakdown” by improving and enhancing
communication when emergencies cause power outages and
disasters strike in areas that have spotty cellular coverage.
The Project to Build an
Alternative Energy-Charging Station Prototype
an electrical outage,” Tim Hicks explained. “That ‘chink’ is
that the majority of people now rely on cell phones for communications instead of land lines, which, unlike cell phones, can
usually can still work—even during a power failure. This means
that in a prolonged electrical outage, not only will people be
dealing with the inconvenience of having no electricity—or
worse—many will also fall out of communication within one
to three days as cell phone batteries die without a reliable,
alternate means of recharging them.”
Hicks subsequently met with Riley in his office and suggested building an alternative energy charging station prototype, and partnering with the Barnwell County Career Center
(See Power Wagon, P. 20)
(See photos, Pp. 18 & 19)
Social media, including
Facebook and Twitter, has become one of the best ways to
mass disseminate emergency
information to everyone during a
disaster or power outage. Thirtynine percent of South Carolina
households, slightly more than
the 38.2 percent of American
households (as of 2012), are
totally wireless. Because wireless communication requires the
use of mobile electronic devices
like cell phones and tablets, it is
critically important to keep such
devices charged.
Barnwell County’s idea for
creating a mobile charging station originated last year when
Barnwell High School Assistant
Principal Franklin McCormick
asked Tim Hicks, Barnwell
School District 45 grant writer,
to apply for a $5,000 alternative
energies grant.
Hicks recalled seeing photos
of Filipinos desperately recharging cell phones after Typhoon
Haiyan devastated the island
nation in 2013. As a volunteer
public information officer for
Barnwell County Emergency
Management (BCEM), he recognized that Barnwell County
residents faced similar problems
recharging their electronic mobile communication devices after
Ice Storm Pax.
“I realized how dependent
we are on cell phones, and recognized there was a ‘chink in the
armor’ of society in the event of Barnwell County’s award-winning mobile charging station, the Power Wagon (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
17
Photos by
Stuart Morgan
The
h Power
Powerr Wagon
Wagon
g is
is packed
pa
ack
cked with
witth equipment,
eeq
quipment, including a 7500watt gas generator and 1800-watt generator, that allows it to
serve as a mobile charging station. The trailer also includes six
household outlets that can be used to charge up to six devices,
including medical equipment and much more.
A deployable 31" X 16" solar panel. Another backup solar panel is
stored inside the Power Wagon.
18
Volume 26, Number 3
The Power Wagon, showing the stabilized hitch and yellow extendable 25-foottall tower that has a 4G AT&T cell phone booster. The tower, which can be
raised or lowered as needed, can amplify cell phone signals within a 550foot radius and generate 12 hotspots.
Artwork courtesy of
Edisto Outdoors
³
Five instructors and 18 students
at Barnwell County’s Career Center,
representing five schools in Barnwell County, designed and constructed the 5' X 8' Power Wagon. Logos,
produced by the students for the five
schools, are displayed on this side of
the trailer.
The Power Wagon is equipped with dozens of charging cables for a broad range of mobile devices. The cables, connected to gas and/or electric
powered generators inside the trailer, can be extended outside two windows on the service side of the trailer (as shown in the inset photos above) for
anyone who needs to charge a device. The windows were custom-cut into the trailer.
Power Wagon ...
compiled a list of materials and equipment that would be
needed and ordered everything for the project, he and the four
other BCCC instructors used the project to provide a handson lesson in electricity, carpentry, welding, drafting, project
management and teamwork for 18 students at the center.
Between January and March, collaborating with Riley,
the instructors and students—representing one private school
(Jefferson Davis Academy) and three public schools (Barnwell
45, Williston 29 and Blackville 19)—successfully designed
and constructed the mobile charging station. Essentially, they
modified a 5' X 8' utility trailer to serve as a such.
On March 27, Riley hosted a cook-out at the BCCC
and presented plaques to the instructors and students who
constructed the mobile charging station, called the “Power
Wagon,” when the career center presented it to BCEM on
March 27.
(BCCC) to design and build one.
Riley immediately recognized the electronic mobile
communication device recharging issue. Because he also appreciated the power of social media and the value of having
a mobile charging station during an emergency, he fully committed himself to the project before Hicks left his office.
Then, after Hicks was unsuccessful receiving grant money
to fund it, Riley authorized the county’s Emergency Management Department to fully fund the project at a total cost of
$6,800. After all, Riley was convinced that the project could
solve communication problems in future emergencies by improving wireless service and providing a source to re-charge
electronic mobile communication devices.
Barnwell County Administrator Pickens Williams said it
The Power Wagon
cost relatively little to design and construct the Power Wagon,
and that the project will likely pay for itself many times over.
Other South Carolina counties and municipalities have ac“The winter storm and train derailment that we expe- cess to charging stations, but no one else in the state is known
rienced,” Williams said, “demonstrated the need for com- to have a mobile charging station that has the capabilities that
munication capabilities in areas of poor radio and cell cover(See Power Wagon, P. 22)
age, something that many
rural counties in South
Carolina have to deal with.
The Power Wagon concept
will help our county and
other counties improve
our communications capabilities in future emergency situations.” (See
UPDATE, P. 24)
When Riley and
Hicks pitched the idea of
creating a mobile charging
station to the county’s Career Center, the center’s
instructors enthusiastically supported the idea
and agreed to participate
in the project.
Ron Still, BCCC Electricity Instructor, became
the overall project manager. He met with Riley
to figure out exactly what
Riley needed in a mobile
charging station, and what
he hoped to accomplish.
Next, he met with four
SHOWING BARNWELL COUNTY’S NEWLY-WON J. MITCHELL GRAHAM MEMORIAL AWARD—(Front
BCCC instructors and derow, l to r) Roger Riley, Emergency Management Director; Tim Hicks, Barnwell School District 45 Grant Writer;
termined what their roles Power Wagon Project Manager Ron Still (Electricity Instructor, Barnwell County Career Center); (back row,
would be in the project.
l to r) Lowell Jowers, Sr., Council Member; Pickens Williams, Jr., County Administrator; Freddie Houston,
The project started Sr., Council Member; David Kenner, Council Chairman; Keith Sloan, Council Vice Chairman; and Joe Smith,
from scratch. Once Still Harold Buckman and Jerry Creech, Council Members. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
20
Volume 26, Number 3
Barnwell County Power Wagon
AT&T 4 G cell
phone booster
Breaker panel
7500 watt
generator
Shelf for equipment
Access windows
110 volt outlets
1800 watt
solar
generator
Equipment box
110 volt outlets
Solar panel
County Focus
21
Power Wagon ...
Barnwell County’s Power Wagon has.
The county’s mobile charging station also has the distinction of being “nonproprietary.” In other words, it has the capability of charging diverse communication devices, including
mobile phones and tablets as well as first
responder and firefighter radios, regardless of a device’s brand.
BCEM deploys the Power Wagon
to a centrally-available location during
emergencies to help facilitate internal
communication among first responders
as well as external communication for the
general public.
The mobile charging station, which
one person can easily setup in about 10
minutes, is equipped with:
OA 7500-watt gas generator that will
dab
k solar
l
run for 10 hours on 1.5 gallons of gas and
backup
panel that can charge emergency responder and firefighter
radios;
OAn 1800-watt generator and 31" X 16" deployable solar
panel with inverter that can simultaneously quick-charge
up to 18 portable county radios; multi-charger cords,
that can be used to charge up to 50 cell phones, tablets or
computers of any type; and 6 household outlets that can
be used to charge up to 6 devices/medical equipment;
OThe ability to create a wireless hotspot that can provide
internet capability for up to 16 computers or tablets at one
time; and
OA 25' extendable tower or mast with a 4G AT&T cell phone
booster and 3G for Verizon and/or other carriers that can
amplify cell phone signals within a 550' radius and generate
12 hotspots.
“Our Power Wagon is solar-powered and has a generator
for backup,” Riley explained. “We can charge cell phones, but
we can charge tablets, laptops, county radios and any other
equipment that will plug into a 110 outlet.
We can also provide wireless Internet access
for up to 30 computers.”
Originally, the Power Wagon was supposed to have an extendable mast with a
wind turbine at its top that could be used
to generate electricity kinetically. But an
extendable mast was added to cell phone
booster at its top instead, so that it could
be used in remote areas where cell phone
coverage is spotty or non-existent.
Riley, who is already considering ways
Artwork courtesy of
to
improve
the Power Wagon, might eventuEdisto Outdoors
ally
ll add
dd a television
t l i i screen to the station so news coverage can
be provided. Currently, during emergencies the Power Wagon
is used as a public information base of operations where new
releases can be distributed and announcements made to keep
the public informed.
Barnwell County’s Award-Winning Idea
Promises to Benefit Other Counties
Barnwell County’s Power Wagon has definitely brought the
county recognition.
However, the county’s
unique mobile charging station also promises to benefit
other counties, boroughs and
parishes across the United
States.
Emergency managers
across South Carolina have
already shown significant
interest in the Power Wagon
since the BCCC constructed
it. Representatives of several counties have also visited
Barnwell to study the mobile
charging station. Others have
called to inquire about the
trailer’s equipment.
Riley said interest in the
Power Wagon has increased
significantly since Barnwell
Barnwell County Emergency Management Director Roger Riley (left) hosted a cookout to thank the five County presented the Power
instructors and 18 students at Barnwell County Career Center who designed and constructed the Power Wagon as its entry this year at
Wagon. The students are shown holding the certificates they received for their successful project. (Photo SCAC’s 48th Annual Conferby Tim Hicks, Barnwell School District 45 grant writer)
(See Power Wagon, P. 24)
22
Volume 26, Number 3
A New Standard of Quality and Service in South Carolina
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Industrial Park Master Planning & Design
Site Certification
Solid Waste Management
Stormwater Management
Land Planning & Site Design
Roadway Design
Railway Design
Water & Wastewater Planning & Design
Grant Application/Administrative Assistance
Construction Management
“Deve
“Developing
alliances
one county at a time.”
www.allianceCE.com
— De
Deepal Eliatamby, P.E.
Bluffton, SC | Charleston, SC | Charlotte, NC | Columbia, SC | Greenville, SC
Power Wagon ...
ence. He said he has also talked with emergency managers
across South Carolina as well as neighboring Georgia about
the mobile charging station.
“Emergency managers in this state have always been willing to share information and ideas to better our state—not
just our communities,” Riley said. “Most disasters affect more
than one county in the state, and we, as a group, have always
worked together to keep all of our citizens safe, protected and
prepared.
“Winning this year’s J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award
was an honor,” he added. “But I believe that the whole point
Who Does the Power Wagon
Project Benefit?
Ron Still, Electricity Instructor at the Barnwell County
Career Center (BCCC), who managed the Power Wagon
Project, said the project benefits BCCC and Barnwell County,
specifically the county’s Emergency Management Department.
“I agreed to direct this project,” Still explained, “because
it was a great opportunity for our school, students and our
local government to work together for the improvement for
the people of Barnwell County. Our students are eager to
learn, and anytime a project can be done, involving students
and the community, it’s a win for everyone. It gives our
students a chance to apply their skills to real life situations
and a chance to be recognized in our community.”
According to Still, the project benefited the county’s
Career Center, its students and instructors by bringing
recognition to the school and for recognizing the quality
of the school’s instructors. The project also demonstrated
the ability of BCCC’s students, showcased what can be accomplished in a small, rural school and brought a feeling of
pride to the entire county as well.
BCCC designed and constructed exactly what the
county’s Emergency Management department needed, and
solved a communications problem that will help Barnwell
County and perhaps other counties, boroughs and parishes
nationwide.
Still credited BCCC Director Sam McKay for supporting
the project.
“When and if possible, the Barnwell County Career
Center wants do anything possible to help Barnwell County,”
McKay said. “I believe that anytime resources are available
and a doable project is presented, the Career Center wants
to help county government.
“Winning the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award,”
he added, “brought positive recognition to our students and
instructors.” Q
24
Volume 26, Number 3
of this award is to share ideas with others, so we can make our
communities and our state the best we can be.”
The mobile charging station is quick and easy to construct.
Best of all, for anyone who wants to build their own mobile
charging station, Riley has created an equipment list, identified
costs of equipment and produced an illustration of the Power
Wagon (See P. 21) that he is willing to share.
“When power is unavailable, communication
suffers. Because of the growing dependency on mobile phones, tablets, etc., Barnwell County devised
a solution—the Power Wagon.”
— Roger Riley
“When disasters
strike,
“Wh
di t
t ik residents
id t tend
t d to
t look
l k to
t local
l c l
governments for answers as well as relief,” Riley said. “It is
the emergency manager’s job and in the best interest of our
communities to take every precaution and to be prepared for
the ‘what-ifs.’ In South Carolina, whether it’s an ice storm,
hurricane, earthquake or other weather related disaster—no
matter what the emergency, a common result is power outage
and Barnwell County NEVER wants to hear, ‘What we have
is a failure to communicate.’
“When power is unavailable, communication suffers,” he
added. “Because of the growing dependency on mobile phones,
tablets, etc., Barnwell County devised a solution—the Power
Wagon. And now, we’ve got the power!”
Artwork cou
courtesy of
Edisto Outd
Outdoors
UPDATE—Georgetown County recently borrowed Barnwell County’s Power Wagon after Hurricane Joaquin brought
torrential rainfall and catastrophic flooding to South Carolina
in October.
“We’re using the Power Wagon in the Browns Ferry community, which is one of the hardest hit areas in our county,”
Jackie R. Broach, Public Information Officer for Georgetown
County, said on Oct. 13. “The mobile charging station, which
has been in place since October 8th, has been a huge asset.
It’s allowing responders, stationed at that location, as well
as residents who chose to remain in the area, to charge cell
phones, to access a wide area network and to have connectivity
for cell phones and computers.”
ON THE ROAD
TO SUCCESS
Santee Cooper welcomes Volvo Cars to the Palmetto State! And why wouldn’t
they come here? We lead the nation in automobile exports and Southern hospitality.
Santee Cooper, together with our partners at the South Carolina Power Team,
Edisto and Berkeley cooperatives, will be along for the ride to help Volvo drive
toward “Brighter Tomorrows, Today.”
www.scpowerteamJVT࠮^^^santeecooper.com/CF
Spartanburg County
Wins 2015 Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
For Partnering with Numerous Entities to Develop and Promote a
Program to Help the County’s Growing 50+ Population
he
partanburg County won the
S
2015 Barrett Lawrimore Me--
morial Regional Cooperation
Award on Thursday, Aug. 4,
at the 48th Annual Conference of the South Carolina
(SCAC) for partnering with
numerous entities to develop
and promote a comprehennsive program to help the couniors
ty’s growing population of seniors
50 years of age and older.
ry Special
The program, called “Very
People, Very Special Places” or “VSP” for short, features an
integrated system of services that focuses on providing a superior quality of life for the county’s growing 50+ population and
teaching that healthy lifestyles learned early will benefit them
as they age.
“This award—a regional cooperation award—
identifies Spartanburg County’s ability to come
together and form a partnership among private
citizens, local government, philanthropic and business interests.”
— Jane Hall
Spartanburg County Council Vice Chairman
“I’
l
d with
ith th
iti given
i
S
t b
“I’m very pleased
the recognition
Spartanburg
County for winning this year’s Barrett Lawrimore Award,” said
Jane Hall, Spartanburg County Council Vice Chairman and
Chairman of the Council’s Livability Committee, who encouraged the county to develop the VSP Program. “This award—a
regional cooperation award—identifies Spartanburg County’s
ability to come together and form a partnership among private
citizens, local government, philanthropic and business interests.”
26
Volume 26, Number 3
Background
The VSP Center idea
o
originated about 10 years
ago.
Nancy Ogle, then Executive Director of Senior
Centers of Spartanburg,
ccobbled together funding
fr
from the S.C. Lieutenant
Go
Governor’s Office on Aging,
other public and private agencies,
as well aas businesses and individuals, to create a VSP Center in
Chesne
Chesnee. The town is located in the northeast corner of Spartanburg County adjacent to Cherokee County.
Housed in one of the town’s newest buildings in a park-like
setting, the center’s philosophy recognized that senior adults
have earned respect and deserve places and programs that are
welcoming, inclusive and responsive to their needs and desires.
The philosophy
WINNER OF THE
also recognized
BARRETT
LAWRIMORE MEMORIAL
that senior adults
REGIONAL COOPERATION AWARD
have skills and
abilities gained
Spartanburg County
Sp
over a lifetime
that they are eager to use on a
volunteer basis
in order to “pay
their own way”
to support and/
or provide worthwhile activities at
the Center.
See
The center,
South Carolina
considered to be
County Map,
a model facility,
Page 87
encouraged se-
niors to take responsibility for improving their quality of life, to
adopt proven wellness practices and to remain active in community life. In fact, seniors were responsible for the center’s
governance and programming.
The Chesnee VSP Center almost closed during FY 2013/14
due to inadequate funding, but Spartanburg County saved the
center and developed the park adjacent to the facility. The
county also partnered with the Spartanburg County Foundation,
and borrowing the VSP Center idea, developed a Senior Wellness Initiative to take advantage of the opportunities presented
by the county’s 50+ population, the so-called “Baby Boomer”
generation that includes individuals born between 1945 and
1964.
“It would have been a shame to allow the Chesnee VSP
Center to close,” Hall said. “However, one could argue that the
“With Baby Boomers reaching senior maturity
at an alarming rate, it only stands to reason that
this ever-growing population needs recognition and
services.”
— Jane Hall
Center’s funding shortfall served to bring a great opportunity to
our collective attention. In fact, I’ve found that money problems
sometime give birth to creativity and innovation.
“With Baby Boomers reaching senior maturity at an alarming rate,” she added, “it only stands to reason that this evergrowing population needs recognition and services.”
Developing a Senior Wellness Initiative
The task force leading the Senior Wellness Initiative included the Spartanburg County administrator, deputy county
administrator and Parks Department interim director. It also
included 30 community leaders representing higher education,
healthcare, local governments, human service agencies and
foundations.
The task force’s mission
was to involve local governments, institutions of higher
education, nonprofit and business leaders in the Spartanburg community in a focused
initiative to:
(1) Replicate the VSP
(See 50+ Population, P. 28)
After showing one of the walking trails in Spartanburg that local residents—including seniors—walk to excercise, a few of the individuals
interviewed for this article take a moment for a group photo. Shown are (l to r) Marcia Murff, Public Relations and Development Manager,
Spartanburg County Parks Department; Mitch Kennedy, Director of Community Services, City of Spartanburg; and Kristie Oliver, Recreation
Coordinator, Spartanburg County Parks Department. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
27
model in Spartanburg County Parks Department facilities;
(2) Identify and meet emerging needs of the 50+ generation; and
(3) Develop a coalition of 50+ generation leaders to serve
as consultants and volunteer at the newly-formed VSP sites.
The task force’s objective was to help Spartanburg County
retain and attract retirees by providing an integrated system of
services; to encourage seniors to become involved in identifying
and designing programs; and to provide information to help
the Parks Department meet the changing needs of the 50+
population.
It is estimated that 25 percent of Spartanburg County’s
residents will be 65 or older by 2025.
Seniors are living longer and leading more active lives. But
research conducted by public health officials indicates that a
large percentage of the county’s residents have documented
health and wellness issues due to obesity and other factors.
The Spartanburg County Foundation, with help from Spartanburg County, responded by hiring a professional facilitator
to conduct community discussions on ways to promote senior
wellness.
participate in discussions concerning the 50+ population,
the building of inter-agency cooperation, and providing
support services where necessary;
ODeveloped a comprehensive website where citizens can look
for and find parks and recreation assets across the county,
regardless of what agency operates the facility; learn about
Parks Department programs; and find links to agencies and
organizations that provide wellness and other services to
the 50+ generation;
OAssumed ownership of the VSP Center in Chesnee and
renamed it the “Chesnee Community Center: A Very
Special Place,” and charged market-competitive fitness
program fees for access to the facility;
OAssumed management of the recently-completed Timken
Community Center in Cowpens (also called a Very Special
Place), formed a VSP Advisory Committee, and worked
with the VSP Foundation to purchase equipment and operate a fee-based indoor fitness center; and
OWorked closely with the Town of Pacolet to develop a new
community center using the VSP philosophy.
“Our Parks Department still very much focuses on youth
programs—outdoor activities, athletic facilities and the like,”
Spartanburg County Refocuses
explained Kristie Oliver, the recreation coordinator hired to
Its Parks and Recreation Services
lead the VSP Program. “We just shifted our focus on how we
serve the 50+ population and
Spartanburg County
expanded our 50+ offerings.”
“Our Parks Department still very much focuses
Council’s mission statement
Spartanburg County’s
on youth programs—outdoor activities, athletic
is for the county to provide “a
Parks Department had one
facilities and the like. We just shifted our focus on
foundation for a superior qualpartner—Senior Center of
ity of life for residents, unlimSpartanburg—to help achieve
how we serve the 50+ population and expanded
ited opportunities for business,
its new mission before the
our 50+ offerings.”
and an exceptional learning
Senior Wellness Initiative
— Kristie Oliver
Recreation Coordinator, Spartanburg County Parks Department
environment for education
was launched. But the Parks
through purposeful planning,
Department has successfully
investment, and use of resources.”
s”
formed many partnerships since then.
Spartanburg County launched its Senior Wellness Initiative
“We realized that we couldn’t do it all alone,” Oliver
by creating a supportive climate where public/private coopera- explained. “So, we had an honest conversation within our detion could flourish through good community partnerships.
partment about the services that we could provide well for the
The county hired a coordinator for the county’s Parks 50+ population. Then, we reached out to form partnerships
Department to lead the VSP Program and focus on providing with organizations that could provide some services better. We
services for the county’s 50+ population. Then, beginning in wanted to see more services offered for the 50+ population, and
2014, the county directed its Parks Department to shift its tra- partnering with other organizations has allowed us to provide
ditional role of supporting youth-oriented sports and recreation so much more.”
programs to fully embrace the county’s growing, under-served
So far, the Parks Department has partnered with almost 100
50+ population.
agencies and organizations, including: hospitals, educational
The Parks Department:
institutions, private business, nonprofits, senior living facilities,
O Continued to provide existing services to 50+ citizens and other parks and recreation agencies, municipalities, school
expanded such services based on feedback from partici- districts, and state and federal programs/agencies.
pants;
In addition, the Parks Department is now a key player in
OContinued to manage community centers in the cities of a number of networking programs such as: Upstate Senior
Woodruff, Pacolet and Inman where 50+ wellness pro- Network, Adult Interagency Council, Elder Abuse Commitgrams were held;
tee/DSS Advisory Team and a monthly senior service provider
OEmbraced the concept of multi-use/multi-generational networking breakfast.
parks and installing fitness improvements such as outdoor
The Parks Department successfully shifted its focus to betexcercise equipment and in-park fitness trails;
ter serve the county’s 50+ population within a relatively short
(See 50+ Population, P. 30)
OEncouraged Spartanburg agencies and organizations to
28
Volume 26, Number 3
Illustration courtesy of Appalachian Council of Governments
County Focus
29
50+ Population ...
period, according to Oliver. She credited Spartanburg County
Council, county administration and everyone in the Parks Department for realizing the necessity of supporting and providing
for the county’s diverse, quickly expanding 50+ population.
Very Special People, Very Special Places
Senior centers that operate across South Carolina, for the
most part, serve as adult day care facilities.
But Spartanburg County’s Senior Wellness Initiative has
created a model for something different. For example, Oliver
emphasized that the county now operates “community centers”
instead of “senior centers.”
“The word ‘senior’ doesn’t depict the same image it did
even 10 years ago,” she explained. “We want people to envision
active, engaged and in-charge individuals when they hear the
word ‘senior’. We must serve the entire population, but we also
want to involve our entire community as well.”
Borrowing the Chesnee VSP idea that originated years
ago, the county has created a better model for the development, construction and operation of new community centers
“Our participating seniors help plan each
center’s activity calendars. They also facilitate
programs and volunteer to help. We want everyone
to have a voice, and to feel ownership in the centers
and programs.”
— Kristie Oliver
Recreation Coordinator, Spartanburg County Parks Department
and the renovation of existing community centers for the 50+
population.
“The initial VSP concept, which originated a decade ago
at the Chesnee site, was hugely successful,” Oliver said. “The
quality of the programs that were offered then, paired with the
participant involvement, was out of this world. Now, we’ve taken
that same idea from its infancy to young adulthood. I ‘say young
adulthood’ because I see this concept growing by even more
leaps and bounds within Spartanburg and, hopefully, beyond.”
A facility must satisfy and follow VSP guidelines to be
designated as a VSP Center. Most important, they must strive
to keep seniors active by providing opportunities for physical activity, social interaction, education and volunteerism. Although
a VSP facility must have a satisfactory kitchen and adequate
space, programming is flexible.
The Parks Department checks to ensure that VSP centers
follow the guidelines and maintain them.
“Using advisory committees, which promote conversations
between seniors and staff operating our VSP Centers, we strive
to provide what seniors ask for instead dictating services or
programs for them,” Oliver said. “Our participating seniors
30
Volume 26, Number 3
Photos courtesy of
Spartanburg County Parks
Department
OGrant funding through federal agencies, such as Community
help plan each center’s activity calendars. They also facilitate
Development Block Grants and the U.S. Department of
programs and volunteer to help. We want everyone to have a
Agriculture as well as local foundations; and
voice, and to feel ownership in the centers and programs.”
O
Operations
and maintenance funding by Spartanburg
The VSP Program is growing.
County,
as
needed.
The Parks Department has explored renovating the community center that it operates in Woodruff to serve as a VSP
Making a Difference
Center. It has also started discussions on creating programs at
the Middle Tyger Community Center and Boiling Springs ComSpartanburg County’s VSP Program, which creates what
munity Park.
the
American
Association of Retired Persons calls “age-friendly
The Parks Department is also working closely with the City
communities,”
is an award-winning success.
of Spartanburg to upgrade the city’s two community centers—CC
The number of residents
Woodson, and Northwest—to
50
years
and older, who have
VSP standards.
“The key to partnership is trust and respect,
requested
the monthly 50+
“The CC Woodson Comand
it
starts
at
the
very
top
with
the
city
and
county
Wellness
program
guide (demunity Center is located on
leadership.
We
have
agreed,
as
partners,
to
check
livered
by
mail
and
e-mail),
the Southside of the City of
our
egos
at
the
door,
and
this
allows
us
to
focus
on
has
increased
by
165
percent.
Spartanburg, which has proThe participant-driven
vided services to the underthe important task of serving the people of SparDaytrippers’
recreational travserved neighborhoods of the
tanburg County and the City of Spartanburg.”
el
program
has
doubled in size.
Southside for 30 plus years,”
— Mitch Kennedy
New
programs
have been
explained Mitch Kennedy,
Director of Community Services, City of Spartanburg
added,
including:
outdoor
Community Services Director,
Spartanburg County. “Northwest Center is located on the north side of the city,
and is in the midst of a Comprehensive Redevelopment Initiative.
“Our county has set the tone and raised the
standards in our community toward service to
seniors, and we believe it is very important to be
consistent with that service throughout the city,”
Kennedy added. “The key to partnership is trust
and respect, and it starts at the very top with the city
and county leadership. We have agreed, as partners,
to check our egos at the door, and this allows us to
focus on the important task of serving the people of
Spartanburg County and the City of Spartanburg.”
Spartanburg County officials believe the VSP
program is financially sustainable at its current level,
but recognize that the funding of programs will
always be an issue considering other county priorities and the current economy. They also recognize
that developing additional VSP centers will be an
ongoing challenge.
County officials estimate that it will take 10 or
more years to develop as many as 14 VSP centers to
sufficiently serve the county’s growing 50+ population.
To meet the challenge, the Parks Department
has created a funding model that includes:
O Grant funding from the Lieutenant Governor’s
Office on Aging;
O Challenge grant funding and organizational/
grants-writing and technical assistance from the
Spartanburg County Foundation;
O Local fund-raising from the communities that
centers serve;
County Focus
31
fitness programs, a food/fun/friends dining club, pickleball and Chairman Jane Hall. “All of our citizens are important, and
senior softball as well as art, sports and dance instruction, Fourth services should be granted not just to one segment of our populaFriday Dance Nights, Senior Enrichment Day (a multi-agency tion but to all. Likewise, such services should be granted—not
education and networking conference, drawing 263 exhibitors, just to our major city, Spartanburg—but to all population areas
speakers and participants) and
throughout the county.
the Spartanburg Area Senior
“It’s a challenge, but with
“All of our citizens are important, and services
Sports Classic.
help from public and private
should be granted not just to one segment of our
Total customer program
partnerships, medical and
population but to all. Likewise, such services should
hours increased more than
private industry and philanbe granted—not just to our major city, Spartan27 percent in one year, from
thropic foundations, seniors
approximately 55,000 to more
in our county have received
burg—but to all population ares throughout the
than 70,000 hours.
recognition,” she added. “Afcounty.”
Finally, utilization of volter all, they are very special
— Jane Hall
unteers has also grown, both
people in very special places.”
in number of volunteer hours
Marcia Murff, Public
gaged V
Volunteers serve in the Relations and Development Manager,
and locations where they are engaged.
M
Spartanburg County
community centers, the Parks Department office, at special Parks Department, credited Kristie Oliver, the VSP Program
events, with youth recreation and at partner locations.
Coordinator, for bringing all the partners representing other
“It is only natural that a parks and recreation department organizations to the table to gain the necessary momentum for
reach out to all people to offer services and not just have a per- the county’s award-winning program.
spective toward youth,” said Spartanburg County Council Vice
She also credited the program’s partners.
“Having such a tremendous group of partners in
“It makes me so proud of how people in our
this initiative,” Murff said,
county put aside their own goals, and maybe their
“is what made this a program
worthy of the Barrett Lawdifferences, to do something for the greater good
rimore Memorial Regional
of the citizens of Spartanburg County.”
Cooperation Award. It makes
— Marcia Murff
me so proud of how people in
Public Relations and Development Manager,
Spartanburg County Parks Department
our county put aside their own
goals, and maybe even
their differences, to
do something for the
greater good of the
citizens of Spartanburg County.”
SPARTANBURG COUNTY COUNCIL—Moments before the beginning of a county council meeting on Sept. 21,
Spartanburg County Council stood for a group photo after their county won this year’s Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Memorial Award. The award is inset above-left. Shown are: (l to r) Bob Walker and
Michael D. Brown, Council Members; Jane Hall, Council Vice Chairman; Jeffrey A. Horton, Council Chairman;
David Britt, Justin T. Bradlley and Roger Nutt, Council Members. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
32
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County Focus
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SCAC
Corporate Supporters
SCAC appreciates
a
app
its corporate supporters — all 96 of them! If your company
would like to support the Association and receive sponsorship benefits, please contact
the SCAC Office at (803) 252-7255.
PATRONS
ARIEL Third Party Administrators, Inc.
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34
Volume 26, Number 3
Greene Finney & Horton, LLP
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Howell Linkous & Nettles, LLC
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Public Works Equipment and Supply, Inc.
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Hulsey McCormick & Wallace
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Marlboro Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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Mashburn Construction Company
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Stantec
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Thomas & Hutton
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Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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Thompson Turner Construction
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Moseley Architects
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Time Warner Cable
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recommend improvements
in government
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means for the exchange of
ideas and experiences
between county officials
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officials
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distribute information
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organizations
* For more information
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contact:
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County Focus
35
Contact
Links
Search
SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES
Building Stronger Counties for Tomorrow
Need Information? Visit SCAC’s
Website at www.sccounties.org
The South Carolina Association of Counties’ website is the primary Internet resource for
information about South Carolina’s counties and issues affecting county government. The website is a dynamic tool that provides access to information about services such as education and
training opportunities, research capabilities, and legal assistance.
Visitors to sccounties.org ZLOOÀQGFRQIHUHQFHVFKHGXOHVOHJLVODWLYHLQLWLDWLYHVDQGQXPHURXV$VVRFLDWLRQSXEOLFDWLRQV7KHZHEVLWHKDVLQIRUPDWLRQRQNH\ÀQDQFLDOSURJUDPVRIIHUHGE\6&$&XQLTXHFRXQW\VSHFLÀFSXEOLFDWLRQVOHJLVODWLYHPRQLWRULQJDQGDGKRFVXUYH\V
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this communication, please refer to the SCAC staff list on page 39 or SCAC’s website to obtain
respective email addresses.
P.O. Box 8207
Telephone: (803) 252-7255
1-800-922-6081 (Toll-Free in South Carolina)
Email: scac@scac.sc
Fax: (803) 252-0379
36
Volume 26, Number 3
SCAC Officers
&
Board Members
PRESIDENT
John
hn Q
Q. Atkinson,
Atkinson Jr.
Jr
Marion County
Council Member
First
Vice President
Second
Vice President
Third
Vice President
Immediate
Past President
Secretary
y
Treasurer
Julie J.. Armstrong
A stro
Arms
tr ng
Charleston County
Clerk of Court
Ronald
R
ld Young
Youn
ou g
Aiken County
Council Chairman
Henry
enry E
E. Livingston
Livi
vings
ng ton III
Newberry County
Council Chairman
James R
R. Frazier
Frazier
Horry County
Council Member
F. Pickens Williams, Jr.
Barnwell County
Administrator
Belinda D. Copeland
Darlington County
Treasurer
SCAC
NACo
Board Member
S.C. Counties Workers’
C
Compensation
Trust and
Property and Liability
Trust Chairman
Proudly Serving
South Carolina’s
46 counties since 1967.
Waymon Mumford
W
Florence County
Council Member
Diane B. Anderson
Laurens County
Council Member
Joseph R. Branham
Chester County
Council Vice Chairman
J h
Johnny
W.
W Jeffcoat
J ff t
Lexington County
Council Chairman
Ch l T.
T Jennings
J
i
Charles
McCormick County
Council Chairman
Dwight L. Stewart, Jr.
Clarendon County
Council Chairman
David
vid K. Summers,
Summerss, Jr.
J
Calhoun County
Council Chairman
Joseph B. Dill
Greenville County
Council Member
Charles T. Edens
Sumter County
Council Member
Richland County
Carol n B.
Carolyn
B R
Robinson
obinson
Fairfield County
Council Chairman
Claude Thomas
Abbeville County
Council Member
Joel R. Thrift
Oconee County
Council Member
Fran
Franklin
ranklin F.
ran
F Fulmore,
Fulmore, Sr.
Sr.
Williamsburg County
Council Member
L i H.
Lois
H Roddey
R dd
Chester County
Probate Judge
Steve Willis
Lancaster County
Administrator
Donald E. Hancock
Saluda County
Council Chairman
Henryy E. “Sel” Hemingway,
y JJr.
Georgetown County
Administrator
R
R.. Archie Scott
Dillon County
W.B. Wilson
Williamsburg County
Council Member
Florence County
Administrator
Johnnie Wright,
W
Sr.
Srr.
Orangeburg County
Council Chairman
Preparing Counties for Tomorrow ...
WHAT IS THE SCAC?
South Carolina Association of Coun-
CONFERENCES
EDUCATION
Q SCAC provides many opportunities for
FRXQW\RIÀFLDOVWRPHHWDQGOHDUQDPRQJWKHP
Q The Association, in cooperation with the
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities, College of Charleston, and the Strom
Thurmond Institute at Clemson University,
conducts the Institute of Government (Level
I, Level II and Advanced Level) for County OfÀFLDOV 7KLVFHUWLÀFDWHSURJUDPKHOSVFRXQW\RIÀcials enhance their skills and abilities. Courses
are offered at the Annual and Mid-Year Conferences and at the County Council Coalition
Meeting in the fall.
ties, chartered on June 22, 1967, is the
only organization dedicated to statewide
representation of
county government
in South Carolina.
A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
with a full-time
staff in Columbia,
SCAC is governed by
a 29-member Board
of Directors selected
E\FRXQW\RIÀFLDOVDW
the Association’s Annual Conference.
Counties have made tremendous progress since the enactment of the Home Rule
Act in 1975. A lot has changed, and so has
county government. As county government
becomes more important to the quality of
life in the state, SCAC is committed to preSDULQJFRXQW\RIÀFLDOVIRUWRPRUURZ
0 Mid-Year Conference — Held in late winter
in Columbia, this conference enables all county
RIÀFLDOV WR EHFRPH EHWWHU LQIRUPHG DERXW WKH
Association’s legislative program. The Association also hosts a reception for all members of
the Legislature during this conference.
0 Annual Conference — Held in August, this
conference is open to all elected and appointed
RIÀFLDOV 7KH FRQIHUHQFH LQFOXGHV D EXVLQHVV
session, general session, workshops, group
meetings, and exhibits of county products and
services.
0 Legislative Conference — Held in December,
this conference allows members of the Legislative Committee to discuss and adopt a legislative
program for the upcoming year. The committee
is composed of each Council Chairman along
with the Association’s Board of Directors.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
SETOFF DEBT PROGRAM
Q 6&$&RIIHUVDQXPEHURIÀQDQFLDOVHUYLFHV
to its member counties. SCAC sponsors three
VHOIIXQGHGLQVXUDQFH7UXVWVGHVLJQHGVSHFLÀcally to meet the needs and requirements of local
government agencies, including the Workers’
Compensation Trust, the Property and Liability
Trust, and OPEB Trust. In cooperation with
the National Association of Counties Financial Services Center, SCAC offers purchasing
cooperative agreements with Independent Stationers, GovDeals and tax audit services with
Tax Management Associates, Inc.
Q SCAC provides legal assistance to county
governments by rendering legal opinions, preparing Amicus briefs, drafting ordinances, and
FRQVXOWLQJZLWKRWKHUFRXQW\RIÀFLDOV
The Association provides support to counties involved in litigation that might affect other
counties. It also sponsors the Local Government
Attorneys’ Institute, which provides six hours of
continuing legal education for local government
attorneys.
Q South Carolina counties are able to collect
delinquent emergency medical services debts,
magistrate and family court fines, hospital
debts as well as other fees owed to the counties through SCAC’s Setoff Debt Collection
Program.
Debts are submitted through the Association to the South Carolina Department
of Revenue to be matched with income tax
refunds. The debt is deducted from a refund
and returned through SCAC to the claimant.
SCAC also sponsors a number of continuLQJHGXFDWLRQZHEFDVWVIRUFRXQW\RIÀFLDOVDQG
employees throughout the year at no charge
to counties. Within a few weeks after the webEDVHGWUDLQLQJLVEURDGFDVWOLYHFRXQW\RIÀFLDOV
and employees are able to access the session as
a video on demand from the webcast library on
the SCAC website at http://www.sccounties.
org.
LEGISLATIVE
INFORMATION
PUBLIC
INFORMATION
RESEARCH AND
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Q The South Carolina General
Assembly convenes each January
LQ&ROXPELDDQGDGMRXUQVVLQHGLH
in June. One in every four bills
introduced affects county governments.
SCAC monitors each bill
as it is introduced and keeps its
members up-to-date on all legislative activity with a weekly Friday
Report. The Association also dispatches Legislative Action Alerts
and publishes Acts That Affect
Counties each year.
Q SCAC publishes an annual
'irectory of County 2fÀciaOs listing
addresses and telephone numbers
RIFRXQW\RIÀFHVDQGWKHLUHOHFWHG
DQG DSSRLQWHG RIÀFLDOV 7KH $Vsociation also publishes CaroOina
Counties 1eZsOetter ÀYH WLPHV D
year to keep the Association’s membership informed about legislation
and various county news. County
Focus Magazine is published four
times a year and features articles
on county trends, innovations, and
YDULRXV RWKHU VXEMHFWV RI LQWHUHVW
WRFRXQW\RIÀFLDOV7KHPDJD]LQH
includes a section called “County
Update.”
Q SCAC provides research and
technical assistance in many areas
to those counties that request it.
The Association staff annually
responds to hundreds of inquiries
IURPFRXQW\RIÀFLDOVUDQJLQJIURP
simple requests for a sample ordinance to more complex questions
requiring considerable research.
The Association also develops
technical research bulletins and
conducts surveys on a variety of
VXEMHFWV 5HJXODU SXEOLFDWLRQV
such as the :age and 6aOary
Report, Acts That Affect Counties,
+ome RuOe +andEooN, A +andEooN
for County Governments in South
CaroOina and Case Law Affecting
LocaO Government are made availDEOHWRFRXQW\RIÀFLDOV
6&$&·VZHEVLWHDGGUHVVLV
http://www.sccounties.org
The site provides county ofÀFLDOVZLWKWKHODWHVWLQIRUPDWLRQ
on SCAC programs, services and
meetings as well as legislative
information, research and survey
results and links to other local
government resources.
O SCACO1919 Thurmond Mall OP.O. Box 8207 OColumbia, S.C. 29202-8207 O
O(803) 252-7255 O Toll-Free in S.C.: 1-800-922-6081 O Fax (803) 252-0379 O E-mail: scac@scac.sc O
38
Volume 26, Number 3
SCAC Staff
South
Sou
uth Carolina
Caro
Ca
roli
ro
lina
li
na
P
P.O. Box 8207, Columbia, SC 29202-8207
(803) 252-7255
General office email: scac@scac.sc
Website: www.sccounties.org
Michael B. Cone
Executive Director
scac@scac.sc
Robert E. Lyon, Jr.
Deputy Executive Director
and General Counsel
blyon@scac.sc
Robert S. Croom
Deputy General Counsel
rcroom@scac.sc
Timothy C. Winslow
Assistant General Counsel
twinslow@scac.sc
Tish F. Anderson
Deputy Director of Administrative Services
tanderson@scac.sc
Robert E. Benfield, ARM
Risk Manager
rbenfield@scac.sc
Anna B. Berger
Director of Research and Training
aberger@scac.sc
Sharon D. Berkowitz
Special Program Assistant Coordinator
sberkowitz@scac.sc
Susan L. Chambers
Assistant Program Coordinator
SCCWCT and SCCP&LT
schambers@scac.sc
Leslie M. Christy-Jennings
Special Projects Coordinator
ljennings@scac.sc
Pam S. Collins, ARM
Program Coordinator
SCCWCT and SCCP&LT
pcollins@scac.sc
Robert C. Collins, CPCU, CIC
Director of Insurance Services
rcollins@scac.sc
H. Warren Counts, Jr., CPA
Controller
wcounts@scac.sc
John K. DeLoache
Staff Attorney
jdeloache@scac.sc
S. Ruthie Duvall
Special Program Coordinator
rduvall@scac.sc
Jennifer M. Haworth
Webmaster
jhaworth@scac.sc
John D. Henderson, ARM, ALCM
Director of Risk Management Services
jhenderson@scac.sc
Dana T. Homesley
Administrative Assistant
dtomlinson@scac.sc
John V. Jervey, AIC
Property & Liability Claims Manager
jjervey@scac.sc
Pearlena A. Khalif-Govan
pkhalif@scac.sc
James F. Knox
Staff Attorney
jknox@scac.sc
Lang K. Kohel, ARM
Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager
lkohel@scac.sc
M. Kent Lesesne
Staff Attorney
klesesne@scac.sc
Robert J. Lyon, CPM, CPPB
IT/Procurement Director
rlyon@scac.sc
Owen A. McBride
Staff Attorney
omcbride@scac.sc
W. Stuart Morgan III
smorgan@scac.sc
Nilda A. Padgett
Director of Administrative Services
npadgett@scac.sc
Joshua C. Rhodes
Staff Attorney
jrhodes@scac.sc
Alexander W. Smith
Staff Attorney
asmith@scac.sc
Susan Turkopuls
Senior Research Associate
sturkopuls@scac.sc
Rick K. Ucinski
Field Representative
rucinski@scac.sc
Mary E. Williams
mwilliams@scac.sc
County Focus
39
SCAC-Sponsored Insurance Trusts
History of the Trusts
The S.C. Workers’ Compensation Trust (SCCWCT) dates back to Nov. 1, 1984, when 11 counties began the fund with
less than a half million dollars. More than 30 years later, the SCCWCT has grown to include 42 counties plus 47 additional
agencies with ties to county government. The Property & Liability Trust (SCCP&LT) began on Aug. 1, 1995, with four
members. The membership has grown to include 16 counties and 9 county-related agencies.
Boards of Trustees
The Trusts were designed by and for county government with the goal of providing insurance to counties at the lowest
rates possible, while providing services uniquely tailored to the needs of county governments. The Boards of Trustees are
made up of county officials who are elected by the SCAC’s Board of Directors. Although not a requirement, both boards
currently share the same membership.
Risk Management
Because member contributions (premiums) are based both on the accident histories of the individual counties (experience modifiers) and on the membership as a whole, both Trusts employ very aggressive risk management strategies. The
philosophy adopted by the Trusts is that, if accidents are caused, they can be prevented. Risk Management services are
provided by the SCAC staff. The payoff is lower premiums and a safer working environment.
Claims Administration and Management
Ariel Third Party Administrators provides workers’ compensation claims administration for the Workers’ Compensation
Trust. The SCAC staff provides claims administration for the Property & Liability Trust and provides the administration
of both Trusts. Q
BOARDS OF TRUSTEES
for
South Carolina Counties
Workers’ Compensation Trust
and
Property & Liability Trust
CHAIRMAN
CHAI
CH
AIRM
AI
RMAN
RM
AN
Calhoun County
Council Chairman
40
Volume 26, Number 3
VICE
VI
CE C
CHA
CHAIRMAN
HAIR
HA
IRMA
IR
MAN
MA
N
Waymon Mumford
Florence County
Council Member
Gonza L.
L Bryant
Greenwood County
Council Member
The Halloween Edition of Risk Management:
Don’t Be Tricked!
By Pam S. Collins, ARM
hen counties solicit bids for projects, they often unknowingly
W
create some very scary risks for their taxpayers. Every county’s
goal when contracting work out is to get the highest quality at the
lowest price. However, the least expensive bid may not always be
the best choice—even if the work product is the same. Hidden
risks can cause the ultimate trick—the lowest bid may end up
costing the county thousands more than the highest one! How
can that possibly happen?
For example, let’s say your county is accepting bids for a new
roof on the Community Center. Ralph’s Roofing submits a quote
for $5,000 including labor and materials. However, Ralph’s Roofing does not have workers compensation coverage or general
liability coverage. Ralph’s Roofing states that they buy a $25,000
auto liability limit on their personal autos (trucks). Ralph’s Roofing also states that South Carolina law does not require them to
purchase workers compensation coverage because they employ
less than four employees and they are a family-run business with
only Dad and his two sons doing the work. (This is true.) They
are a well-known local family with a reputation for doing good
roofing work.
Ike’s Insured Roofing provides a quote for $6,000 including
labor and materials. They are a regional chain with an excellent
rating through the Better Business Bureau. Along with their quote
they provide a certificate of insurance for workers compensation,
general liability (including products/completed operations) and
auto liability with a $1 million per occurrence policy limit.
Due to Ralph’s long term residency in the county, he is close
friends with several of your county council members. Due to that
relationship and his low bid, he is awarded the contract. Did
the county just make a ghastly mistake? One thing the county
did not do when evaluating the two bids is to figure the cost of
hiring a contractor with no insurance or inadequate insurance
for the job. Sometimes this oversight will have minimal financial
consequences for the county. If something goes wrong with the
job, though, the cost to the county could be truly terrifying!
Donald E. Hancock
Saluda County
Council Chairman
Clyde B. Livingston
Orangeburg County
Council Member
If you hire Ralph’s Roofing, at the annual year-end workers
compensation payroll audit, there will be a surcharge for the uninsured contractor. The amount charged depends on several factors
including the county’s claims history and the type of work that
is being contracted. As you might expect, roofing is a dangerous
occupation and workers compensation coverage is expensive. In
our example, the county would end up paying $1,666.35 for the
workers compensation coverage for the uninsured contractor.
Instantly Ralph’s Roofing has become the more expensive choice.
The fiscal fear factor doesn’t stop there. What if one of
Ralph’s Roofing’s employees falls off the roof while completing
the job? Since Ralph’s Roofing does not have workers compensation coverage, the injured worker could file a workers compensation claim against the county. The county’s workers compensation
policy will pick up the claim, but the accident could end up costing
the county thousands of dollars in increased premiums depending on the severity of the claim. Could this scenario get any more
frightening?
What if Ralph’s Roofing improperly installed the roof and it
starts leaking in five years? They are no longer in business since
Dad retired and the boys decided to pursue another career.
Who will pay for the repairs? If the county had the certificate of
insurance it would file a liability claim against Ralph’s Roofing’s
insurance company for the repair/replacement. But remember,
Ralph’s Roofing did not purchase general liability insurance so
the county (and its taxpayers) is stuck with the repair bill.
Even worse, what if Ralph’s Roofing does not provide the
county with proof of automobile liability coverage or they have
minimum South Carolina state limits? Suppose Ralph’s Roofing’s truck runs off the road while transporting the old shingles
to the landfill and injures a family of four of your taxpayers?
The $25,000 auto liability limit is not adequate coverage for the
family’s medical bills. Is the county legally responsible for their
injuries/medical bills? Probably not. Are they morally/ethically
(See Halloween Edition, P. 42)
F. Pickens
F
Pickens Williams,
W
Jr.
Jrr.
Barnwell County
Administrator
Steve Willis
Lancaster County
Administrator
SECRETARY/
SECR
SE
CRET
CR
ETAR
ET
TAR
RY/
TREASURER
Michael B. Cone
Executive Director, SCAC
County Focus
41
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or call us toll-free at 800-689-5654
42
Volume 26, Number 3
responsible? I would not want to have to be the county employee
or Risk Manager who explains to the victims and to the community
that they did not require their county’s subcontractors to provide
adequate auto liability coverage to protect the citizens of their
county from this unfortunate incident.
I hope it is now clear why requiring a certificate of insurance
from your contractors is a vital way to protect all of the County’s
assets (your budget dollars, your citizens, your employees, your
taxpayers, your reputation).
The value of any insurance claim is more than just the financial impact. It is the health, welfare and quality of life of your
employees and your taxpayers.
The SCAC is pleased to announce an online
video library of the J. Mitchell Graham/
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition that was held in conjunction with
the Association’s 48th Annual Conference.
The award presentations are available via
streaming video on the SCAC website at:
The Association is grateful to Beaufort
County and the Beaufort County Channel
for providing video production resources.
As a result of this partnership, all county
officials are able to learn from the innovative ideas and solutions that were presented
during the competition.
Keep your county beautiful
with help from PalmettoPride
PalmettoPride would like to be your resource for community improvement, from grants to law enforcement
needs. Our Litter Trashes Everyone marionette show is free to all public elementary schools, providing a
fun, educational experience teaching children about litter and recycling. We can help you create a litter-free
event. We have supplies for community cleanup events. We have a camera loan program for investigating
illegal dumpsites and other litter hot spots. We can train your employees on the impact of blight with
Broken Windows Training and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Our PalmettoPride grants
can help you create litter eradication programs or create green spaces in your county.
We invite you to learn more about PalmettoPride, Keep South Carolina Beautiful, Adopt-a-Highway, Palmetto
Prideways and all of our programs at www.palmettopride.org.
SCAC Hosts
th
48 Annual Conference
The South Carolina Association of Counties hosted its 48th
Annual Conference from Aug. 2 to 5 at the Hilton Head Marriott.
Designed to help county leaders
rs
lead and serve more effectively, the
conference offered training sessions,
workshops and opportunities for
county officials to network and discuss challenges they face. The conference also allowed county leaders to
bimeet with corporate supporters, exhibitors and others.
New SCAC officers and board members were elected. Top
county programs and projects were presented and recognized,
and awards were presented.
(See Conference Photos, P. 56)
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2014-15 SCAC President James R. Frazier (Horry
County Council Member) speaks at the General Session for SCAC’s
48th Annual Conference (below).
³ El Paso County,
Colorado Commissioner Sallie Clark,
President of the
National Association of Counties, speaks at the
General Session.
³
SCAC First Vice President John Q. Atkinson,
Jr. (Marion County
Council Member)
speaks at the conference’s General Session.
He was elected SCAC
President for 2015-16.
³ Beaufort County
Council Chairman D. Paul
Summerville welcomes everyone to Beaufort County,
host county for SCAC’s
48th Annual Conference.
³
KEYN
KEYNOTE
NOT
O E SPEAKER—Mo
SPEAKER—Molly
olly Mitchell, Superintendent, S.C.
Department of Education, speaks at the General Session.
Photos by
Stuart Morgan
³
Dr. Robert H. Becker, Fellow and Senior Scholar,
Strom Thurmond Institute, Clemson University, recognizes entries in this year’s J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition at the
General Session.
³SCAC Immediate Past President
Joseph R. Branham (Chester
County Council
Vice Chairman)
speaks at the General Session.
County
C
Co
unty Focus
F
45
³
SCAC Secretary F. Pickens Williams, Jr. (Barnwell
County Administrator) speaks at the General Session.
³
NACo President Sallie Clark presents a gift to 2014-15 SCAC President James
R. Frazier followingg her speech
at the General Session.
p
³
Florence Countyy Council V
Vice Chairman W
Waymon
aymon
M
Mumford
(member of SCAC and NACo boards)
provided the invocation before the beginning of the
p
General Session.
G
2014-15 SCAC President James R. Frazier (right)
presents NACo President Sallie Clark a gift after she
speaks at the General Session. Waymon Mumford
stands in the background.
³
³
GENERAL SESSION—(L to r) Molly Mitchell, Superintendent, S.C. Department of Education; SCAC and NACo Board Member Waymon
Mumford (Florence County Council Member); 2014-15 SCAC President James R. Frazier (Horry County Council Member); NACo President Sallie Clark (at podium); SCAC First Vice President John Q. Atkinson, Jr. (Marion County Council Member); SCAC Second Vice President Julie J.
Armstrong (Charleston County Clerk of Court); SCAC Secretary F. Pickens Williams, Jr. (Barnwell County Administrator) and SCAC Treasurer
Belinda D. Copeland (Darlington County Treasurer)
³
SCAC Immediate Past President Joseph R. Branham, Chairman of
the SCAC Nominating Committee (flanked by SCAC Persident James R.
Frazier and SCAC Board Member Waymon Mumford) announces SCAC’s
slate of officers for consideration at the General Session.
³
(L to r) Matthew D. Chase, NACo Executive Director, and John Q. Atkinson, Jr.,
SCAC First Vice President
³ (L to r) SCAC First Vice President John
Q. Atkinson, Jr.; NACo President Sallie
Clark; SCAC Board Member Waymon Mumford; and 2014-15 SCAC President James R.
Frazier
³
(L to r) Welling Clark and his wife, NACo
President Sallie Clark; and 2014-15 SCAC
President James R. Frazier and his wife,
Jackie
³
(L to r) 2014-15 SCAC President James R. Frazier and
Calhoun County Council Chairman David K. Summers, Jr.
(Chairman of the S.C. Counties Workers’ Compensation
Trust and Property and Liability Trust)
³
On Monday, Aug. 3, SCAC Staff Attorneys
Joshua C. Rhodes and Timothy C. Winslow
provide an overview of the 2015 Legislative
Session and discussed bills that are on the
horizon for the upcoming legislative session.
³
NACo President
Presid
dent Sallie Clark; S.C.
SC
County Council Coalition President Joyce
J. Dickerson (Richland County Council
Member); and NACo President Matthew D.
Chase. Dickerson served as chair of NACo’s
Telecommunications and Technology Steering Committee in 2011 and 2013 and as vice
chair of the committee in 2013. She also
served as president of the NACo Caucus,
Women Officials of
NACo Leadership
Network, better
known as WON, in
2011.
set above-right),
above right)
³William E. Tomes (inset
Fellow, Joseph P. Riley Jr. Center for Livable
Communities, College of Charleston, teaches
“Decision-Making in a Political Environment,”
a Level II course, on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the
Institute of Government. The Institute was held
on Saturday and Sunday immediately before
SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference.
³
Jon B
B. Pierce
Pierce, Senior Fellow
F
Fellow,
w Institute
In
of
Public Service and Policy Research, USC,
(inset above) teaches “Understanding and
Seeking Differences,” a Level I course, at the
Institute of Government on Sunday, Aug. 2.
³
³Thomas Scott,
Deputy Chief
Information
Security Officer,
S.C. Division
of Information
Security, talks at
a workshop on
“Cybersecurity
Demystified.”
Gina R. Smith, Bamberg County Controller,
teaches a course on “Financial Management,” a
Level II course, on Sunday, Aug. 2.
³
³
³
(L to r) SCAC Staff Attorneys John DeLoache and Kent Lesesne discuss “Legal Issues in County Government” on Staturday, Aug. 1, a Level
I course at the Institute of Government.
On behalf of the Association of Counties, SCAC Staff Members Mary
Williams and
Pearl KhalifGovan thank
Benefactors for
supporting the
Association’s
48th Annual
Conference.
As other county officials observe, Hampton
Co
County
Sheriff Thomas C. Smalls (left) participates in an exercise in one of the courses offered
pa
this year by the Institute of Government.
th
³
On behalf of the Association of Counties, SCAC Staff Members Nilda
Padgett and Tish Anderson thank SCANA for supporting the Association’s 48th Annual Conference.
County Focus
49
³
The SCAC has introduced a mobile app that allows county
officials and others attending the Association’s annual
conference to receive up-to-date information. To help anyone
install the app on their mobile devices, including cell phones
and tablets, SCAC Webmaster Jennifer Haworth operates a
station near the conference’s registration desk.
³
SCAC Controller Doug Brockhard, working at the registration desk during the
Association’s annual conference, hands a registration packet to Sumter County
Administrator Gary M. Mixon. SCAC Staff Members in the background are (l to r)
Tish Anderson and Ruthie Duvall.
³
Max (above), a Giant Schnauzer, takes a nap in the audience
during this year’s J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition. But when summoned by Capt. Joseph
Garcia (at right), dog handler for the Spartanburg County
Sheriff’s Detention Facility, he quickly awoke and rushed to his
position on stage next to Capt. Garcia for Spartanburg County’s J.
Mitchell Graham Memorial Award presentation. Maj. Neal Urch
(at podium) and Capt. Garcia presented Spartanburg County’s
entry. The county’s detention facility is the first in the state to
implement and use a corrections special operations canine to aid in drug detection, cell
phone detection and inmate management.
³
At a workshop on Monday, Aug. 3, George M. Hazin, Program Manager, S.C. Public Employee Benefit
Authority, explains changes in the S.C. retirement
systems.
³
Judges for this year’s J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition listen as Jasper County presents its entry for this year’s J. Mitchell Graham Memorial
Award.
³
Claude Graham, Local Government
Liaison, Alliance Consulting Engineers,
and W.B. Wilson, Williamsburg County
Council Member
³
Forty-four businesses exhibited at SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference. An exhibitors’ reception was held Sunday evening, Aug. 2.
³
AMERICAN ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, INC. EXHIBIT—Gregory
Jenness (left), Head of Survey Department, American Engineering Consultants, Inc., talks with Saluda County Council Vice Chairman James Frank
Daniel, Sr., and his wife, Carrie, who stopped at his booth to learn more
about American Engineering Consultants when visiting the conference’s
exhibit section.
³J. Randy
Imler, Executive
Director, Catawba Regional
Council of Government, speaks
at the County
Managers,
Administrators
and Supervisors
Meeting on Monday, Aug. 3.
HYBRID ENGINEERING, INC. EXHIBIT—Justin K. Lyles, Project
Engineer, and C. Douglas Clary, Jr., President, Hybrid Engineering, talk with
(l to r) Dan Mace Moseley, Moseley Architects; William Pugh, Saluda County
Council Member; Virginia Burgess, Deputy Clerk to Council, Lancaster County; Ruth Comer, Bamberg County; and Fredrena Odum of Bamberg County.
³
³
S.C. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION—Ronald L. Charlton, Georgetown County Council Vice Chairman, and
W. Paul Prince, Horry County Council Vice Chairman, talk with
representatives of the S.C. Emergency Management Association,
Angela Leopard of Hampton County and Suzanne D. Peeples,
Emergency Management Division Director, Hampton County.
³
Irvin G. Condon, Probate Judge,
Charleston County, son, Joseph, and
2014-15 SCAC President James R.
Frazier at the Exhibitors’ Reception
³
Dorie Lu, daughter of Angel and Alec Brebner,
Dorchester County Planning/Zoning Manager,
pulls one of the winning tickets at the Exhibitors’
Reception, held Sunday evening, Aug. 2. In the
photo at right, Dorie Lu and her mother pose for
a photo.
Dr. Carolyn Prince, President of the S.C. Coalition
of Black County Officials (SCCBCO), talks at the
SCCBCO’s meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
³
³
Jalisa E. Washington, S.C. Political
Director, speaks at the meeting of the
S.C. Coalition of Black County Officials.
James L. Felder, President/CEO, S.C.
Voter Education Project, talks at the meeting
of the S.C. Coalition of Black County
Officials.
³
³
³
David Kenner, Barnwell County Council
Chairman, speaks at the S.C. Coalition of
Black County Officials Meeting
S.C. Coalition of Black County Officials Meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 4
³
Amy B. Brennan, Executive
Director, Center for Women, was the
guest speaker at the Betty T. Roper
Elected Women Officials’ Luncheon
on Monday, Aug. 3.
³
Betty T. Roper Elected Women
Officials’ Luncheon, Monday, Aug. 3
During SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference, Kaye Braaten, NACo President,
1991-92, encouraged conference attendees to get involved in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. At the Betty T. Roper
Elected Women Officials’ Luncheon
(left photo), she held up a “Counties
Connect America” flyer and encouraged
everyone to e-mail Connect@NACo.org
to participate in the NACo initiative.
³
³
NACo President Sallie Clark speaks briefly
at the Betty T. Roper Elected Women Officials’
Luncheon.
³
Speakers at the S.C. Coalition of County Officials (See P. 4), held on Monday, Aug. 3, included: (l to r) Matthew D. Chase, NACo President; David
Goodell, Associate State Director, S.C. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs; Margaret C. Pope, Pope Flynn Group; and Frank A. RainwaCounty Focus
53
ter, Executive Director, S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
³
Participating in a panel discussion at the Advanced Institute of Government Class, held on Saturday, Aug. 1, are: (l to r) Steve Willis, County
Administrator, and Council Chairman Robert Bundy, Lancaster County; Charles T. Edens, Council Member and Gary Mixon, Sumter County
Administrator; Johnnie Wright, Sr., Council Chairman, and Harold M. Young, County Administrator, Orangeburg County. The meeting is inset
below-left.
Advanced Institute of Government Class, Saturday, Aug. 1
³S
S.C.
C County
Council Coalition PresidentJoyce J.
Dickerson
presides over the
Coalition’s meeting (below) on
Monday, Aug. 3.
S.C. County Coalition Meeting, Monday, Aug. 3
³
³
³Presiding over
the panel discussion at the Advanced Institute of
Government Class
(above) is Jon
B. Pierce, Ph.D.,
Senior Fellow, Institute for Public
Service and Policy
Research, USC.
³
P
Participating
articipating in a legislative panel discussion
discussion
i att th
the S
S.C.
C C
County
ounty Council Coalition Meeting are: (l to r) Rep.
Rep Edwa
Edward
ard
r L.
L Southard (Dist.
(Dist No.
No 100),
100) R
Rep
Rep. W
(Dist. No. 40) and Sen. Chauncey K. Gregory (Dist. No. 16).
³
Approximately 48 women attended the
Betty T. Roper Elected Women Officials’
Luncheon on Monday, Aug. 3 at SCAC’s
2015 Annual Conference (Aug. 2-5). Gathering for a group photo minutes after the
conclusion of the luncheon are many of the
women who attended, including: (bottomleft) Richland County Council Vice Chairman Joyce Dickerson (a member of NACo’s
Telecommunications and Technology Steering Committee), NACo President Sallie
Clark (El Paso County, Colorado Commissioner) and (top-right) Kaye Braaten
(NACo Past President, 1991-92).
³
³(L to r) Welling Clark and his wife, NACo
President Sallie Clark; 2015-16 SCAC
President John Q. Atkinson and his wife,
Patricia; NACo Executive Director Matthew
D. Chase and Kaye Braaten, 1991-92 NACo
President
Wendy
W
endy K
K. Nanney (Dist
(Dist. No.
No 22),
22) R
Rep.
Rep JJ. Wayne
Wayne George (Dist.
(Dis
(D
i t No.
is
No 57),
57)) Sen.
Sen C.
Se
C Bradley Hutto
³
Jackie Frazier and her husband, 2014-15 SCAC
President James R. Frazier
County Focus
55
Conference Speakers
building on a 20-year career in nonprofit management and community development. The Center for Women is a nonprofit
organization, which educates and advocates so that women in
South Carolina can achieve economic success and become leaders in their professional, community and personal lives.
General Session
El Paso County, Colorado, Commissioner Sallie Clark,
First Vice President of the National Association of Counties
(NACo), spoke at this year’s general session on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Molly Mitchell Spearman, S.C. State Superintendent of Education, was the keynote speaker.
Amy B. Brennan spoke at noon on Monday, Aug. 3 at this
year’s Betty T. Roper Elected Women Officials’ Luncheon.
Brennan joined the Center for Women in September 2013,
J. Mitchell Graham and Barrett Lawrimore
The 2015 J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
Awards Competition was held from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Sunday,
Aug. 2.
The J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award, established in
memory of past SCAC President and Charleston County Council Chairman J. Mitchell Graham, recognizes excellence in governmental performance. The Barrett Lawrimore Memorial
Award, established in memory of past SCAC Presi(See Conference Photos, P. 58)
³
2015-16 SCAC President John Q. Atkinson, Jr., and his wife, Patricia; SCAC
Treasurer Belinda D. Copeland and SCAC First Vice President Julie J. Armstrong
(Charleston County Clerk of Court) and her husband, Jim Armstrong, Assistant
County Administrator/Transportation/Public Works, Charleston County
³
Annual Conference Banquet, T
Tuesday,
uesd
sday
ayy, A
Aug.
ug.. 4
ug
SCAC President James R. Frazier (left) accepts a
plaque from incoming 2015-16 SCAC President John Q.
Atkinson, Jr., at the annual conference banquet, held on
Tuesday, Aug. 4.
³
Conference Photos ...
SCAC 48th Annual Conference
EXHIBITORS
AECOM
Motorola Solutions–Palmetto 800
Municode/Municipal Code Corporation
All Pro Solutions, Inc.
NACo–National Association of Counties
American Engineering Consultants, Inc.
nCourt
Archer Company, LLC
Nexus Solutions USA
AT&T
Public Works Equipment and Supply, Inc.
Blanchard Machinery
qPublic
Brownstone
QS/1
Clemson University Cooperative Extension
Santee Cooper
Coast2Coast Discount Rx Card
SCANA Corporation
Compass Municipal Advisors, LLC
S.C. Chapter of the American Planning Association (SCAPA)
Contract Construction, Inc.
SC.GOV
Cumming
South Eastern Road Treatment, Inc.
GEL Engineering, LLC
Southern Health Partners, Inc.
GovDeals, Inc.
Stantec
Greene Finney & Horton, LLP
Stewart • Cooper • Newell Architects
Hybrid Engineering, Inc.
Thomas & Hutton
Infoscore, Inc.
Thompson Turner Construction
J.M. Wood Auction Company, Inc.
Time Warner Cable
Lowcountry Billing Services
VC3
MBAJ–Boomerang Design
Xerox Corporation
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
Q
Moseley Architects
SCAC 48th Annual Conference
BENEFACTORS
AECOM
AT&T
Beaufort County Channel
Duke Energy
Howell Linkous & Nettles, LLC
McNair Law Firm, PA
Motorola Solutions – Palmetto 800
Pope Flynn Group
Santee Cooper
SCANA Corporation
Q
County Focus
57
Conference Photos ...
The annual awards banquet was held at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Institute of Government for County Officials
The Institute of Government for County Officials was held
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, and 9 a.m. to 12 noon
on Sunday, Aug. 2, preceding the annual conference.
The Institute offered the following courses:
Saturday
OEthical Leadership and Public Service
OLegal Issues in County Government
ODecision Making in a Political Environment
OBuilding and Sustaining Effective Relationships: Ingredients for Successful Communities
Sunday
³
SCAC President James R. Frazier (left) presents a plaque to SCAC
Immediate Past President Joseph R. Branham (Chester County
Council Vice Chairman) on Tuesday, Aug. 4, recognizing his hard
work and dedication as the Association’s president during 2013-14.
OOrientation I
OUnderstanding and Seeking Differences
OFinancial Management
OSharpening Your Advocacy Toolkit: How to Impact State
and Federal Legislative Issues
dent Barrett S. Lawrimore, recognizes the most outstanding regional cooperative effort of two or more political subdivisions.
County Council Coalition Meeting
The County Council Coalition Meeting
was held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Monday,
Aug. 3. At the end of the Coalition Meeting,
the S.C. Commission of Disabilities and Special Needs present the 2015 Golden Palmetto
Award.
Association Group Meetings, Workshops
and Other Activities
³
Several county official groups held meetings during the conference, but most of the
meetings were held from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon
on Monday, Aug. 3.
The following five workshops, focusing
on specific issues facing county government,
were offered from 2 to 4 p.m.:
OBuilding Healthy Communities
OCapital Financing Tools: Finding the
Best Fit for Your County
OCybersecurity Demystified
OOverview of the 2015 Legislative Session
SCAC
SC
C
President
President James R
R. F
Frazier (left) congratulates SC
SCAC’s
CAC’s new presi
president
sid
dent for 2015OUnderstanding Your Retirement Plan
16, John Q. Atkinson, Jr., shortly after presenting him the president’s gavel at the end of
SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference Banquet on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
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County Focus
59
From Panhandling to Robocalls:
Content Neutral Regulations after
Reed v. Town of Gilbert
By Amanda Kellar.
Legal Advocacy Director, IMLA
Introduction
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, decided on June
18, 2015, is shaping up to be one of the
most significant cases for local governments in years, requiring municipalities
across the nation to review and in most
cases, rewrite their sign codes. On its surface, Reed was about the Town of Gilbert,
Arizona’s regulations that treated temporary directional signs, ideological signs,
and political signs differently in terms of
size and duration. The Court concluded
that the Town’s ordinance regulating
these signs was content based on its face
and therefore subject to strict scrutiny
(which is almost always a death knell for
regulations, as it was in this case). Prior
to Reed, municipalities and courts had
understood that strict scrutiny would
generally not apply to a sign ordinance
unless the government was discriminating
against viewpoints or subject matter. See
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 135 S. Ct. 2218,
2238-2239 (U.S. 2015) (Kagan, J. concurring) (discussing circumstances in which
the Court had previously applied strict
scrutiny to content-based regulation). On
this point, Justice Kagan, who concurred
in the judgment only, notes:
To do its intended work, of course,
the category of content-based regulation triggering strict scrutiny must
sweep more broadly than the actual
harm; that category exists to create
a buffer zone guaranteeing that the
government cannot favor or disfavor
60
Volume 26, Number 3
certain viewpoints. But that buffer
zone need not extend forever. We
can administer our content-regulation doctrine with a dose of common
sense, so as to leave standing laws
that in no way implicate its intended
function.
And indeed we have done just that:
Our cases have been far less rigid
than the majority admits in applying
strict scrutiny to facially contentbased laws—including in cases just
like this one.
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 135 S. Ct.
2218, 2238-2239 (U.S. 2015) (Kagan, J.
concurring) (discussing prior Supreme
Court cases applying intermediate scrutiny to laws similar to the one in question).
Lower Courts’ Application of Reed
As the lower courts grapple with
the implications of Reed, it is becoming
increasingly evident that, at least so far,
Reed seems to be about a lot more than
just signs. In just a few short months, Reed
has already been used to strike down a
panhandling ordinance, a prohibition
against robocalls, a ban on voters posting photos of their completed ballots on
social media, and regulations distinguishing between on-premise and off-premise
signs. Given the fact that the Supreme
Court granted certiorari and remanded
a First Circuit panhandling case to be
decided in light of the Reed decision, it is
not entirely surprising that lower courts
are interpreting Reed broadly. See Thayer
v. City of Worcester, 135 S.Ct. 2887 (U.S.
2015).
Panhandling
While those in the First Circuit
wait for the decision in Thayer after its
remand, the Seventh Circuit has already
weighed in on the issue of content based
panhandling ordinances in light of the
Reed decision.1 See Norton v. City of
Springfield, No. 13-3581, 2015 U.S. App.
LEXIS 13861 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, 2015).
Norton involved a city ordinance that
prohibited panhandling in its “downtown
historic district” and defined panhandling
as an “oral request for an immediate donation of money.” Id. at *2. The plaintiff
argued that this prohibition was a form of
content discrimination while the city contended that the ordinance did not make
any distinctions based on the content
of the speech. Id. The Seventh Circuit
originally agreed with the city, noting that
the regulation does not “interfere with
the marketplace of ideas, that it does not
practice viewpoint discrimination” and
that it was therefore not content based.
Id. at *2-3.
On a petition for rehearing, the court
deferred consideration until the Supreme
Court decided Reed, and on rehearing,
the panel reversed its original holding,
concluding that “Reed understands content discrimination differently … [and]
effectively abolishes any distinction
between content regulation and subjectmatter regulation” and that in light of
Reed, contrary to its earlier holding, the
ordinance was in fact content based. Id.
at *4. Judge Manion concurred with the
panel’s decision in Norton, but wrote
separately to indicate that in his belief,
Reed overruled the Supreme Court’s
decision in Ward v. Rock Against Racism,
491 U.S. 781 (1989), at least on its point
that “the principal inquiry in determining content neutrality … is whether the
government has adopted a regulation of
speech because of disagreement with the
message it conveys.” Id. at *5-6 (Manion,
J. concurring).
Other First Amendment
Applications of Reed
As noted, it’s not altogether surprising that a court would apply Reed to a
panhandling ordinance in light of the
decision to grant certiorari in Thayer and
remand the decision for further consideration in light of Reed. Some of the other
decisions applying Reed are more unexpected, however. For example, in Rideout
v. Gardner, the legislature was concerned
about voter buying and coercion and
therefore passed an amendment to a
statute prohibiting voters from posting
photographs of their completed ballots
on social media. Rideout v. Gardner, No.
14-cv-489, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105194,
2015 DNH 154 (D.N.H. Aug. 11, 2015).
After discussing the Reed decision, the
New Hampshire district court concluded
that regardless of the legislature’s good
intentions, the statute in question here
was also content based on its face. Id.
at *24. The court reasoned that the only
images that were prohibited by the statute
were those of a marked ballot, whereas
unmarked ballots and copies of ballots
could be shared without restriction, thus
making the restriction content based and
subject to strict scrutiny (which it could
not survive). Id.
Another somewhat unusual application of the Reed decision came out of the
Fourth Circuit. See Cahaly v. Larosa. No.
14-1651, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13736
(4th Cir. July 1, 2015). In Cahaly, a political consultant was arrested for violating
the South Carolina anti-robocall statute,
which restricts robocalls that are unsolicited and of either a consumer or political
nature. Id. at *2-3. The Fourth Circuit
concluded that the Supreme Court had
recently “clarified the content-neutrality
inquiry in the First Amendment context”
in Reed v. Town of Gilbert and that under
that framework, the South Carolina antirobocall statute was unconstitutional. Id.
at *9-10. The Fourth Circuit reasoned
that the anti-robocall statute only applied
to robobcalls made with a consumer or
political message but not calls made for
another purpose and was therefore content based on its face and could not survive strict scrutiny. The court noted that
Reed abrogated Fourth Circuit precedent
in this area that had previously held that
“when conducting the content-neutrality
inquiry, ‘[t]he government’s purpose is
the controlling consideration.’” Id. at 9.
Meanwhile, in the Second Circuit, the
eastern district of New York recently
applied Reed to an ordinance prohibiting people from standing in public
right-of-ways and stopping vehicles to
solicit employment. See De La Comunidad Hispana De Locust Valley v. Town
Although the First Circuit has not yet decided Thayer, it did rule on the constitutionality of a panhandling ordinance in September 2015. In Cutting v. City of Portland,
the city’s ordinance prohibited any person from standing / sitting in a median strip,
with the exception of pedestrians crossing the street. Cutting v. City of Portland, No.
14-1421, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16206, *2 (1st Cir. Me. Sept. 11, 2015). The First
Circuit held that the ordinance was content neutral as the restriction applied to where
the speech took place, not the type of message and therefore concluded that Reed
was not applicable. Id. citing to Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 135 S. Ct. 2218, 2227, 192 L.
Ed. 2d 236 (2015).
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County Focus
61
of Oyster Bay, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
117926, *1-2 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 3, 2015).
The Town maintained that the ordinance
did not fall within the purview of the
First Amendment because it prohibited
conduct not speech. Id. at *27-28. The
court disagreed, however, finding that the
solicitation of employment is commercial
speech. Although the Reed decision did
not concern commercial speech, the
court in De La Comunidad Hispana De
Locust Valley nonetheless determined
that Reed provided the frame-work to
determine whether the ordinance was
content based, and concluded that it
was because it did not address any type
of roadside solicitation except the solicitation of employment. Id. at *32-34.
The court reasoned that in order for
the Town’s enforcement authorities to
determine if someone had violated the
ordinance, those authorities would have
to ascertain the content of the speech,
i.e., whether the vehicle was stopped “for
the purpose of soliciting employment.”2
Id. at *34.
Signs: On-Premise v. Off-Premise
Distinctions
Thus far, courts are split as to how to
apply Reed to distinctions in sign codes
for on-premise versus off-premise signs.
California and Utah federal courts have
found that Reed simply does not apply
to commercial speech and therefore
distinctions between on-premise and
off-premise signs do not fall under its
rubric. See Contest Promotions, LLC v.
City & Cnty. of San Francisco, No. 15-cv00093-SI, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98520
(N.D. Cal. July 28, 2015); Citizens for
Free Speech, LLC v. Cnty of Alameda,
No. C14-02513 CRB, 2015 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 92998 (N.D. Cal. July 16, 2015);
Cal. Outdoor Equity Partners v. City of
2
Although the court found that the ordinance was content based under Reed,
it proceeded to analyze the ordinance
under the four prong Central Hudson Gas
& Elec. Corp. v. Public Service Comm’n of
New York frame-work utilized for commercial speech. See De La Comunidad
Hispana De Locust Valley v. Town of Oyster
Bay, 10-CV-2262, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
117926, *53 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 3, 2015).
62
Volume 26, Number 3
Corona, NO. CV 15-03172 MMM, 2015
U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89454, *26-27 (C.D.
Cal. July 9, 2015); Timilsina v. West Valley
City, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101949, *17
(D. Utah June 30, 2015). In Tennessee,
however, municipalities may need to start
revising their sign codes that provide
distinctions for on-site and off-site signs
as one federal court for that jurisdiction
has concluded, for the purposes of a
temporary restraining order, that such
distinctions are likely content-based and
subject to strict scrutiny under Reed (and
therefore likely unconstitutional). See
Thomas v. Schroer, No. 2:13-cv-02987,
2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101491 (W.D.
Tenn. June 24, 2015).
Turning first to California, in Contest
Promotions, San Francisco banned off-site
signs but allowed signs that were “onsite” and the plaintiff sued, contending
that under Reed the sign ordinance was
subject to strict scrutiny. Contest Promotions, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98520, at
*8. The court disagreed, concluding that
Reed did not concern commercial speech
and therefore the ordinance need only
survive intermediate scrutiny. Id. at *8-11.
The court relied in part, on Justice Alito’s
concurrence, which provides a “nonexhaustive list of signage regulations that
would not trigger strict scrutiny, which
included, inter alia, ‘[r]ules distinguishing between on-premise and off-premise
signs.’” Id. at *10, quoting Reed v. Town
of Gilbert, 135 S.Ct. 2218, 2234-39 (U.S.
2015) (Alito, J. concurring). Although
Justice Alito’s list of permissible regulations is contained in a concurrence, the
court in Contest Promotions relied on the
makeup of the Court, noting that Justice
Alito’s concurrence was joined by two
other Justices who had also joined the
majority and that still three other Justices
concurred in the judgment only, and that
those other three Justices “rejected the
notion that a content-based regulation
must necessarily trigger strict scrutiny
…” Id. at *10-11. Thus, according to the
court, “at least six Justices continue to
believe that regulations that distinguish
between on-site and off-site signs are not
content-based, and therefore do not trigger strict scrutiny.” Contest Promotions,
2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98520, at *11.
Similarly, the court in Cal. Outdoor
Equity Partners v. City of Corona concluded that Reed simply did not apply
to the city’s ban of off-site commercial
billboards. Cal. Outdoor Equity Partners
v. City of Corona, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
89454, *3. The court reasoned:
Reed does not concern commercial
speech, let alone bans on off-site
billboards. The fact that Reed has
no bearing on this case is abundantly
clear from the fact that Reed does not
even cite Central Hudson, let alone
apply it. Metromedia, 453 U.S. at
511-14, and its progeny remain good
law; the City’s sign ban is therefore
not patently unconstitutional.
As noted above, at least one federal
court has disagreed with the foregoing
analysis and has applied Reed to regulations that distinguish between on-premises and off-premise signs, even though
such regulations pertain to commercial
speech. See Thomas v. Schroer, 2015 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 101491 at *7. The court in
Thomas reasoned that Reed applied to
the Tennessee Billboard Regulation and
Control Act’s distinctions between onpremise and off-premise signs because
“[t]he only way to determine whether a
sign is an on-premise sign, is to consider
the content of the sign and determine
whether that content is sufficiently related to the activities conducted on the
property on which they are located.” Id.
at *9 (internal quotations omitted).
Conclusion
So, what do we know in the wake of
Reed? We know that signs codes that distinguish between non-commercial speech
will trigger strict scrutiny regardless of
the government’s motive or whether the
government was discriminating against
certain viewpoints or even a subject
matter. We also know that municipalities may regulate signs in a number of
content-neutral ways, such as regulations
pertaining to size, location, lighting, fixed
messages versus electronic messages,
free-standing signs versus those attached
to buildings, and the total number of
signs per lot.
But there still remains a fair amount
of uncertainty in this area. Are the
California federal courts right that Reed
simply does not apply to commercial
speech? There is certainly an argument
that they are, given the fact that Reed
failed to even mention Central Hudson,
let alone explicitly overrule it and that
the Court “does not normally overturn,
or so dramatically limit, earlier authority sub silento … ” Shalala v. Ill. Council
on Long Term Care, 529 U.S. 1, 5 (U.S.
2000). So municipalities certainly have a
plausible argument to continue to make
otherwise constitutional distinctions in
the commercial speech area. A related
unanswered question in the wake of
Reed is whether distinctions between
on-premise and off-premise signs are
content based as at least one court has
held, or if they are content neutral or
possibly not subject to Reed because they
are regulations pertaining to commercial
speech. Justice Alito and perhaps five
other Justices seem to believe that such
regulations would not be content based.
Time will provide us some clarity and
answers to these questions, but it may
be that Justice Kagan was prescient with
her observation that the Supreme Court
will become a “veritable Supreme Board
of Sign Review” in the aftermath of the
Court’s decision in Reed.
IMLA is working on model content
neutral language for sign ordinances that
we make available to our members.
IMLA provides assistance to local
government attorneys whose municipalities
are members and it supports local governments throughout the United States as an
amicus in many cases at the U.S. Supreme
Court and in the federal circuits and in
state supreme courts. IMLA provides local
government attorneys with a forum to seek
help and to gain understanding of the law.
If you or your county is not a member
of IMLA, consider joining. IMLA offers a
number of low-cost programs each year to
help attorneys and city/county managers
keep abreast of emerging issues or to refresh
their knowledge of local government law.
For more information on membership, programs or getting involved with
IMLA, contact Chuck Thompson at cthhompson@imla.org or call him at (202)
742-1016.
Support the
South Carolina
Annual Conference.
Conference
South Carolina
P.O. Box 8207
(803) 252-7255
County Focus
63
Patricia S. Hartley
Receives President’s Cup
South Carolina Association of Coun-
“Ms. Hartley is a woman of great
has been loyal and gracious to county
ties President James R. Frazier (Horry character,” Frazier said. “She is a modofficials and employees.”
County Council Member) presented this est, patient and thoughtful person who
An accomplished pianist who studied
year’s President’s Cup—one
music at the University of
of SCAC’s highest honors—to
Alabama, Hartley began her
“(Patricia Hartley) has has served the South
Horry County Clerk to Council
career by traveling the northCarolina Association of Counties and the citizens
Patricia S. Hartley at the Assoern states and parts of Canada
of Horry County honorably for 15 years, and is
ciation’s 48th Annual Conferto promote tourism for the
held in high esteem by all who have been fortunate
ence, held Aug. 2–5.
S.C. Department of Parks,
The President’s Cup, preRecreation and Tourism.
to know and work with her.”
— SCAC President James R. Frazier
sented to Hartley on Aug.
She then worked in the
(Horry County Council Member)
4, is awarded each year to
Special Projects Division of
the county official
Gov. John C. West’s
who has merited
administration. To
special recognition
honor Hartley’s dedfor service to county
ication and service,
governments and asGov. West presented
sistance to SCAC’s
the Order of the Palpresident during the
metto to Hartley and
past year.
designated her a “Pal“I’m grateful for
metto Lady.”
Patricia Hartley’s
Hartley later held
support and friendpositions as legislative
ship, and I’m deliaison for the S.C.
lighted to have the
Human Affairs Comopportunity to pubmission, executive aslicly thank her,” said
sistant to the chairman
James R. Frazier.
and corporate market“She has served the
ing coordinator for the
South Carolina AsLPA Group in Columsociation of Counties
bia, and executive asand the citizens of
sistant to the president
Horry County honorof Embers Charcoal
ably for 15 years, and
Company in Conway.
is held in high esteem
Since 2000, she
by all who have been Horry County Clerk to Council Patricia S. Hartley (center) receives the President’s Cup has served as Horry
(See President’s
fortunate to know from SCAC President James R. Frazier. At left is Mr. Frazier’s wife, Jackie. (Photo by
Cup, P. 66)
and work with her.
Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
65
The SCAC is pleased to announce an online
video library of the J. Mitchell Graham/
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards
Competition that was held in conjunction with the Association’s 48th
Annual Conference. The award presentations are available via streaming
video on the SCAC website at:
President’s Cup ...
County clerk to council.
Hartley’s contributions to the Horry
County community are reflected by her
service as a former member of the Conway Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, as a graduate of Leadership
Conway, and as a former volunteer for
the Conway Chamber of Commerce.
She is a long-time member of the S.C.
Clerks to Council Association, and has
served on the Clerks’ Manual, Promotion
and Membership, and Reunion committees.
The Association is grateful to Beaufort County and the Beaufort
County Channel for providing video production resources. As
a result of this partnership, all county officials are able to learn
from the innovative ideas and solutions that were presented
during the competition.
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Email: pdmlighting@poncemoody.com
66
Volume 26, Number 3
Twenty-Eight County Officials
Graduate from the Institute of
Government for County Officials
T
wenty-eight county officials graduated
on Tuesday, Aug. 4, from Levels I and
II of the Institute of Government for
County Officials at the 48th Annual Conference of the South Carolina Association
of Counties (SCAC), held Aug. 2–5.
LEVEL II
LEVEL I
Graduating from Level I were:
CALHOUN COUNTY—John D. Nelson, Council Member; DORCHESTER
COUNTY—Carroll S. Duncan, Council
Member; FLORENCE COUNTY—
Alphonso Bradley, Council Member;
GREENWOOD COUNTY—Steven
J. Brown, Council Chairman; LANCASTER COUNTY—Lee C. Weeks,
Tax Collector, and Virginia C. Burgess,
Deputy Clerk to Council; LEE COUNTY—Clarence M. Caudill III, Assessor; LEXINGTON COUNTY—Chris
Folsom, Deputy County Administrator;
MARION COUNTY—Simon Jenkins,
Council Member; OCONEE COUNTY—
Paul A. Cain, Council Vice Chairman;
RICHLAND COUNTY—Julie-Ann
Dixon and Kelvin E. Washington, Sr.,
Council Members; WILLIAMSBURG
COUNTY—Sharon W. Staggers, Clerk
of Court.
If you looked here,
customers could be looking at
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Advertising here makes sense. For more information,
SOHDVHFDOO6&$&·V3XEOLF,QIRUPDWLRQ2IÀFHDW
1-800-922-6081.
68
Volume 26, Number 3
Graduating from Level II were:
ABBEVILLE COUNTY—James P.
McCord, Council Member; BAMBERG
COUNTY—Thomas M. Thomas, Assistant County Administrator/Finance
Director; BEAUFORT COUNTY—
Cynthia M. Bensch, Council Member;
CHARLESTON COUNTY—Anna B.
Johnson, Council Member; CHEROKEE COUNTY—Steven C. Blanton,
Jr., Council Member; DARLINGTON
COUNTY—Robert L. Kilgo, Jr., Council
Member; DORCHESTER COUNTY—
George H. Bailey, Council Vice Chairman,
and Larry S. Hargett, Council Member;
GREENWOOD COUNTY—Toby L.
Chappell, County Manager, and Jacqueline Hackett, Zoning Technician; HAMPTON COUNTY—Roy T. Hollingsworth,
Jr., Ph.D., Council Vice Chairman, and
Thomas C. Smalls, Sheriff; LANCASTER COUNTY—Brian Carnes, Council
Vice Chairman; MARION COUNTY—Simon Jenkins, Council Member;
Want to know “Who’s Who” in South Carolina
county government? If so, order a copy of the 2016
Directory of County Officials by contacting:
$25 South Carolina Association of Counties
Public Information Office
per
P.O. Box 8207
copy
(803) 252-7255
Email: smorgan@scac.sc
The following county
officials graduated
from Level I of the
Institute of Government for County Officials: (Front row,
left to right)—Simon Jenkins, Marion County Council;
Alphonso Bradley,
Florence County
Council; Virginia C.
Burgess, Lancaster
County Deputy Clerk
to Council; and Sharon W. Staggers, Williamsburg County
Clerk of Court; (back
row, left to right)—
John D. Nelson,
Calhoun County
Council; Carroll S.
Duncan, Dorchester
County Council; Paul A. Cain, Oconee County Council Vice Chairman; and Clarence M. Caudill
III, Lee County Assessor. Also graduating, but not shown, were: Steven J. Brown, Greenwood
County Council Chairman; Julie-Ann Dixon, Richland County Council; Chris Folsom, Lexington
County Deputy Administrator; Kelvin E. Washington, Sr., Richland County Council; and Lee
C. Weeks, Lancaster County Tax Collector.
SPARTANBURG COUNTY—Roger
A. Nutt, Council Member; and WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY—Kimber W.
Cooper, Treasurer.
The SCAC—in cooperation with the
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable
Communities, College of Charleston,
and the Strom Thurmond Institute of
Government and Public Affairs, Clemson
University—holds the
Institute of Government for County Officials three times per year. The Institute
of Government provides county officials
the opportunity to enhance their skills
and abilities to function more effectively.
County officials must complete 27
hours of instruction, including 18 hours
of required topics and 9 hours of elective
topics, to graduate from Level I. They
must complete 18 hours of instruction
to graduate from Level II.
The following county officials graduated from Level II of the Institute of Government for County Officials: (Front row,
left to right) Brian Carnes, Lancaster County Council Vice Chairman; Thomas C. Smalls, Hampton County Sheriff;
Simon Jenkins, Marion County Council; Anna B. Johnson, Charleston County Council; James P. McCord, Abbeville
County Council; Larry S. Hargett, Dorchester County Council; and Roy T. Hollingsworth Jr., Ph.D., Hampton County
Council Vice Chairman; (back row, left to right)—George H. Bailey, Dorchester County Council Vice Chairman; Roger
A. Nutt, Spartanburg County Council; Steven C. Blanton, Jr., Cherokee County Council; Robert L. Kilgo, Jr., Darlington
County Council; Kimber W. Cooper, Williamsburg County Treasurer; and Cynthia M. Bensch, Beaufort County Council.
Also graduating but not shown are Toby L. Chappell, Greenwood County Manager; Jacqueline Hackett, Greenwood
County Zoning Technician; and Thomas M. Thomas, Bamberg County Assistant Administrator/Finance Director.
(Photos by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
69
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of
S.C. Clerks to Council
Certification Program
The Certified Clerk to Council (CCC)
credential identifies clerks to council
and deputy/assistant clerks who have
demonstrated professional achievement
through continuing education, leadership
and service.
“Achieving the CCC designation
announces that these clerks have a place
among the best in their profession, are
abreast of current laws and protocols,
and uphold high standards for ethical and
professional conduct,” said Theresa B.
Kizer, CCC, president of the S.C. Clerks
to Council Association.
Section 4-9-110 of the S.C. Code of
Laws defines the duties of county clerk to
council as recording council proceedings
and performing other duties that council
may prescribe. In addition, § 4-9-120
states that:
70
Volume 26, Number 3
All proceedings of council shall be
recorded and all ordinances adopted by council shall be compiled,
indexed, codified, published by
title, and made available to public
inspection at the office of the clerk
of council. The clerk of council shall
in partnership with the S.C. Association
of Counties [SCAC] and the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities
at the College of Charleston [the Riley
Center].”
The program is open to all county
clerks to council and their deputies/assistants. In order
to achieve certifi“Achieving the CCC designation announces
cation candidates
that these clerks have a place among the best in
must:
their profession, are abreast of current laws and
1. Complete
36 hours of trainprotocols, and uphold high standards for ethical
ing to address speand professional conduct.”
cific duties out— Theresa B. Kizer, CCC
President of the S.C. Clerks to Council Association
lined in the S.C.
Code of Laws, curmaintain a p
permanent record of all
d best
b t practices.
rentt iissues, and
ordinances adopted and shall furnish
2. Submit a questionnaire after each
a copy of such record to the clerk of
training session to explain what they
court for filing in that office.
learned and how the information can be
Other duties and responsibilities of
applied in their work setting.
the clerk to council vary in each county,
3. Meet one of the following rebased on whether the clerk is assigned
quirements for education/experience:
full-time or has additional job duties.
• A bachelor’s degree and two years
“During the past few years, there
of local government experience;
have been radical changes in the way
• An associate degree and four
county governments operate and county
years of local government experiofficials work,” Kizer noted. “Innovative
ence; or
technology and amendments to South
• Six years of local government
Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act
experience.
make internet access to meeting agendas,
4. Be a current member of the S.C.
council proceedings and public records
Clerks to Council Association and upthe new norm.”
hold the association’s Code of Ethics.
“Certification provides an indepenThe program was created in 1990 in
dent verification of each clerk’s qualifipartnership with the University of South
cations,” she added. “The S.C. Clerks to
Carolina’s Institute of Public Affairs
Council Association offers this program
(now the Institute for Public Service and
Policy Research) to define professional
and ethical standards, and to cultivate a
statewide network of competent clerks
to council. Fifty-five (55) clerks and one
deputy clerk have achieved certification
during the past 25 years, and all certified
clerks who were present were recognized
during SCAC’s 48th Annual Conference.
The original certification curriculum included 14 required courses and
six elective courses. The program’s first
graduating class had 19 members.
During the past 11 years, the cer-
tification requirements and curriculum
have been enhanced to reflect changes
in state law and participant recommendations. In 2009, the curriculum was
updated to include four courses offered
through SCAC’s Institute of Government for County Officials; and in 2014,
the program formed a new partnership
with the Riley Center at the College of
Charleston.
The S.C. Clerks to Council Association recently adopted a proposal to provide an advanced certification program.
Shryll M. Brown, CCC, of Fairfield
County was among the program’s first
graduates. She is also chairman of the
association’s Certification Committee.
“Advanced certification will provide
additional educational opportunities
for clerks who have completed the certification program,” Brown explained.
“The framework is still under review and
development; however, we plan to offer
components that will address continuing
education, professional goals, and social
contributions.”
First Graduates of the Clerks to County Council
Certification Program
Nineteen clerks to county council graduated from the Clerks to Council Certification program in 1995. The graduates included: (l to r) Jo
Ann Y. Welch, Florence County; Suzanne M. Rainey, Beaufort County; Doris P. Watson, Pickens County; Irene Plyler, Lancaster County;
Susan L. Matthews (now Susan L. Chambers), Orangeburg County; Aline Newton, Hampton County; Jewell Kibler, Newberry County;
and Doris F. Pearson, Cherokee County.
Other members of the first graduating class included: (l to r) Mary W.
W Lewis (now Mary W.
W Blanding), Sumter County;
Gladys Jones, Jasper County; Beverly T. Craven, Charleston County; Shryll M. Brown, Fairfield County; JaNet Blow
(now J. JaNet Bishop), Darlington County; and Thomas L. Harvin, Clarendon County. Not shown were: Donna R. Allread, Calhoun County; Myrtle Killion, Dorchester County; Gladys Allen, Horry County; Linda G. Jolly, Union County;
and Nancy B. Moore, York County. (Photos by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
71
Beverly T. Craven, CCC, of Charleston County was also a member of the
program’s first graduating class. “I have
been the clerk of council for 28 years,”
she noted. “During that time, I have had
the opportunity to obtain my certification and also attend additional classes
to address new laws and procedures.
Current Certified Clerks to Council
Abbeville County—Lynn E. Sopolosky*
Bamberg County—Rose R. Shepherd
Beaufort County—Suzanne M. Rainey
Charleston County—Beverly T. Craven
Cherokee County—Doris F. Pearson
Chesterfield County—Susie Boswell*
Clarendon County—Dorothy M. Levy
Darlington County—J. JaNet Bishop*
Fairfield County—Shryll M. Brown*
Florence County—Connie Y. Haselden*
Georgetown County—Theresa E. Floyd
Greenville County—Theresa B. Kizer and Regina G. McCaskill
Greenwood County—Ketekash Crump-Lukie*
Hampton County—Aline Newton*
Jasper County—Judith M. Frank*
Kershaw County—Merri M. Seigler
Lancaster County—Debbie C. Hardin*
Lexington County—Diana W. Burnett
Marion County—Sabrina S. Davis
McCormick County – Crystal B. Barnes*
Oconee County—Elizabeth G. Hulse*
Saluda County—Karen T. Whittle*
Spartanburg County—Deborah C. Ziegler
Sumter County—Mary W. Blanding*
Union County—Linda G. Jolly
* These clerks have also completed
SCAC’s Institute of Government for County Officials
72
Volume 26, Number 3
I believe the opportunity to develop
strong relationships with other clerks is
one of the program’s greatest benefits.
We continue to support each other and
CURRENT CERTIFIED CLERKS TO
COUNCIL RECOGNIZED AT SCAC’S 48TH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE—(Front row, l to r)
Shryll M. Brown, Clerk to Council, Fairfield
County; Crystal B. Barnes, Clerk to Council,
McCormick County; Theresa B. Kizer, Clerk
to Council, Greenville County; Regina G.
McCaskill, Deputy Clerk to Council, Greenville County; Ketekash Crump-Lukie, Clerk
to Council, Greenwood County; Sabrina S.
Davis, Clerk to Council, Marion County;
Aline Newton, Clerk to Council, Hampton
County; Beverly T. Craven, Clerk to Council,
Charleston County; (back row, l to r) Karen
T. Whittle, Clerk to Council, Saluda County;
Connie Y. Haselden, Clerk to Council, Florence County; Elizabeth G. Hulse, Clerk to
Council, Oconee County; Theresa E. Floyd,
Clerk to Council, Georgetown County; Debbie C. Hardin, Clerk to Council, Lancaster
County; Diana W. Burnett, Clerk to Council,
Lexington County; Susie Boswell, Clerk to
Council, Chesterfield County; and Mary W.
Blanding, Clerk to Council, Sumter County.
(Photo by Stuart Morgan)
“In addition to the clerks’ certificashare ideas between classes, and we offer
to gain perspective from council memtion, I also completed Level I and Level
mentorship to new clerks, deputy clerks,
bers and chief administrative officers. I
II certificate requirements for the Instiand assistant clerks.”
believe this helps the clerks work more
tute of Government and I have attended
Clerks to council also have the
effectively with their councils.”
some of the advanced classopportunity to gain a broad
es,” Hulse said. “I especially
perspective of county govern“County leaders are tasked with putting plans
enjoyed attending classes
ment by pursuing certification
and policies into action. An educated, experienced
with my council members
through SCAC’s Institute of
clerk can support their vision by conducting their
and elected officials from
Government for County Ofother counties, as it helped
ficials. Since 1989, 17 clerks
affairs in a manner that reflects honor and public
me gain a better perspective
have completed the program;
trust, by carefullly recording their actions and preof their role, responsibilities,
and many continue their eduserving critical records, and by working effectively
and priorities.
cation by attending advanced
with other county staff members.”
“County leaders are
classes annually. Although
— Elizabeth G. Hulse, CCC
tasked with putting plans and
some courses provide dual
Oconee County Clerk to Council
policies into action. An educredit, each program has sepacated, experienced clerk can
rate requirements.
support their vision by conducting their
“The Clerk to Council CertificaElizabeth G. Hulse, CCC, of Oconee
affairs in a manner that reflects honor
tion focuses on critical elements of the
County agreed. “As a new clerk, each
and public trust, by carefully recordjob and enables a clerk to perform at a
class in our certification program gave
ing their actions and preserving critical
higher level,” said Kendra B. Stewart,
me greater knowledge. I learned when
records, and by working effectively with
Ph.D., professor and director of the Riley
to escalate a matter to council, forward
other county staff members.”
Center. “Institute of Government Ceran issue to a department head, or handle
tification gives the clerk a well-rounded
a request myself. The classes also gave
understanding of how county governme an excellent opportunity to adopt
ment works, examines critical issues that
the best practices taught by experienced
counties face, and offers an opportunity
clerks and other recognized experts.
S.C. Clerks to Council Certification Curriculum
The S.C. Clerks to Council Certification curriculum offers
a detailed review of the legal responsibilities, job duties, and
ethical principles that are required of all clerks to council.
Developed and presented by experts from diverse backgrounds, the curriculum also helps clerks develop a diverse
network of peer mentors and professional contacts throughout
the state.
Instructors include:
• Staff members from the S.C. Department of Archives
and History;
• Faculty members from S.C. colleges and universities;
• Attorneys;
• A parliamentarian; and
• County financial officers.
The curriculum consists of 12 courses—eight required
courses and four electives. All courses provide three hours
of instruction and are offered in conjunction with S.C. Clerks
to Council Association meetings and SCAC’s Institute of
Government for County Officials.
Required courses include:
1. Building Effective Intergovernmental Relations*
2. Customer Service
3. Ethical Leadership and Public Service*
4. Financial Management*
5. Managing and Conducting Meetings*
6. Minutes, Agendas, and Ordinances
7. Records Management
8. Roles and Responsibilities
For elective credit, participants may attend other courses
offered by the S.C. Clerks to Council Association and SCAC’s
Institute of Government.
At the end of each course, the clerks are required to
complete a Knowledge Transfer Questionnaire. The purpose
of the questionnaire is to determine what the participant
learned during each session, to determine if the participant
understood the material presented, and to verify that the
participant completed the course.
For information about the requirements for achieving
certification or class registration, please contact Certification
Committee Chairman Shryll M. Brown, CCC, by calling (803)
635-1620 or sending e-mail to shryll.brown@fairfield.sc.gov.
The Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities
at the College of Charleston provides instructors, administrative support, and recordkeeping for the Clerks to Council
Certification program. For more information about the Riley
Center, visit http://riley.cofc.edu/index.php or call (843) 9536100. Q
* Offered by SCAC’s Institute of Government
County Focus
73
$GYHUWLVHLQ
South Carolina’s
2016 Directory of
County Officials!
Advertising Deadline: December 31, 2015
South Carolina’s 2016 Directory of County Officials, currently in production, will be distributed in
February to elected and appointed county officials, and many state offices in South Carolina.
The 2016 Directory will list elected and appointed county officials in the state and identify SCAC’s
Officers, Board of Directors, Past Presidents, Patrons and Sponsors; Regional Councils of Government;
Federal and State Officials; and State Senators and Representatives. Addresses and telephone numbers
will be included for county officials, state officials and members of the S.C. General Assembly. Additional
information will be included as well.
Cost:
OFull-page, full-color advertisement (7" W X 10" H) — $600.00 NET
OHalf-page, full-color advertisement ((7" W X 4 7/8" H) — $450.00 NET
OFull-page B&W advertisement (7" W X 10" H) — $350.00 NET.
OHalf-page B&W advertisement (7" W X 4 7/8" H) — $200.00 NET
OTo add one or two more colors to a full-page or half-page B&W ad, the cost is $90.00 NET for each additional color. Colors will be built in process.
The deadline for placing an advertisement in the upcoming 2016 Directory is 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec.
31, 2015. So, your check or money order (made payable to SCAC) and ad must be received by this date at
the SCAC Office (NO EXCEPTIONS).
A .pdf of the 2016 Directory (a complete version including advertisements that can be viewed, downloaded
and printed) is posted each year on SCAC’s website at www.sccounties.org. After the 2016 Directory of
County Officials is distributed to South Carolina’s counties and SCAC’s Corporate Supporters, additional
copies will be sold at a cost of $25.00 per copy.
OTo place an ad in the upcoming edition of South Carolina’s 2016 Directory of County Officials, please
contact:
Attn.: Public Information Office
P.O. Box 8207
Columbia, South Carolina 29202-8207
(803) 252-7255
74
Volume 26, Number 3
Laurens County
Receives Golden Palmetto Award
he S.C. Commission on Disabilities
T
and Special Needs presented the Golden
Palmetto Award to Laurens County on
n
Aug. 3 at the 48th Annual Conference off
the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC), held Aug. 2–5. The award
d
recognizes the county that provides exemplary support to people with disabilities.
“Laurens County has done an exemplary job in significantly increasing its
commitment to people with disabilities,”
said David Goodell, Associate State Director, S.C. Department of Disabilities
and Special Needs (SCDDSN), when
presenting the award to Laurens County
council members and Administrator
Ernie Segars. “They richly deserve this
honor.
“The importance of strong partnerships has never been greater or more
valuable than it is today,” Goodell added.
“Laurens
pas-“L
aurens County’s
Countyy’s enthusiasm and pas
sion for individuals with disabilities are
transforming people’s lives through jobs,
services and community involvement.”
Laurens County approved special
fu
funding
to help purchase and renovate a
new day program site in Clinton, named
n
the Sinclair Center. This is very signifith
ccant, because this is the first center in the
history of the Laurens County Disabilities
h
aand Special Needs Board to be located in
Clinton.
C
Having a second location improves
aaccessibility to services and shortens the
aamount of time consumers spend getting to and from supportive services and
jobs. Having a new center also provided
individuals, supported by the Board, to
(See Golden Palmetto, P. 76)
Laurens County
See South Carolina
County Map,
Page 87
Shortly after receiving the Golden Palmetto Award from the S.C. Commission on Disabilities
and Special Needs on Aug. 3, Laurens County leaders gather for a photo. Shown left to right
are: David A. Pitts, Laurens County Council Member; Jason Tavenner, Executive Director, and
Brenda Ligon, Chairperson, Laurens Disabilities and Special Needs Board; Diane B. Anderson,
Laurens County Council Member; David Goodell, Associate State Director, S.C. Department of
Disabilities and Special Needs; Garrett McDaniel and Ted G. Nash, Laurens County Council
Members; and Ernest B. Segars, Laurens County Administrator. (Photo by Stuart Morgan)
County Focus
75
Support the
South Carolina
Annual Conference.
Conference
South Carolina
P.O. Box 8207
(803) 252-7255
76
Volume 26, Number 3
Golden Palmetto ...
become employees at the center. For
others, there are new opportunities for
jobs nearby and increased community
involvement.
The new location strengthens the
Disabilities and Special Needs Board’s
presence in the community, increases
visibility, and provides a convenient location for consumers/families to apply for
SCDDSN services. Already, this new link
in the Clinton community has resulted
in additional job/contact work. As a next
step, Laurens County Council has approved additional financial support which
the board plans to use for job creation.
“We appreciate Laurens County’s
continued interest and best effort to
make things happen for our folks,” said
Jason Tavenner, Executive Director of the
Laurens County Disabilities and Special
Needs Board. “We know we can count
on them. Laurens County is connecting
directly to people with intellectual or
physical disabilities in important ways.”
SCDDSN is the state agency that
plans, develops, oversees and funds
services for South Carolinians with severe, lifelong disabilities of intellectual
disability, autism, traumatic brain injury
and spinal cord injury and conditions
related to each of these four disabilities.
The agency’s mission is to assist people
with disabilities and their families in
meeting needs, pursuing possibilities and
achieving life goals, and to minimize the
occurrence and reduce the severity of
disabilities through prevention.
Sumter County
A Roadside Guide to
Sumter, County Seat
of Sumter County
See South Carolina
County Map,
P. 87
By Alexia Jones Helsley
www.historyismybag.com
B
other equipment.
Several buildings survive from antebellum Sumter. Among these are the
Elizabeth White House. Built c. 1854 by
John E. Brown, the house was the home
of Elizabeth White, a noted artist. White
exhibited her art at the Smithsonian
Institution, the New York World’s Fair
of 1939, and the International Biennial
Exhibition of Art in Venice. By her will,
White conveyed the house to the Sumter
Gallery of Art.
Following the Civil War, Sumter recovered economically and during the late
19th and early 20th centuries, downtown
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istorically, Greenville County owes much to its natural
advantages of scenery, location and abundant water, but it
has also beneòted from its colorful characters, such as 4ichard
Pearis, Vardry McBee and the Earle family. Hidden History of
Greenville County details the personalities, places and events that
have given Greenville its progressive, diverse environment. Join
archivist and history professor Alexia Helsley as she explores
some of these individuals and their contributions, as well as littleknown events in the area and the ever-fascinating “Dark Corner.”
From mansions to murders, learn things about Greenville County
history that you’ve never encountered before.
7 4;B;4H
$24.00 Postpaid (Includes
tax, shipping and handling)
To order, write:
AJH Historical Enterprises
P.O. Box 3684
Irmo, S.C. 29063
commercial development flourished.
Sumter was a thriving center for cotton,
the main agricultural product of the surrounding county. By 1900, tobacco was
a major crop and Sumter was home to
textile and other manufacturing concerns.
As a result of this growth, population
expanded and residents erected new
businesses, residences and civic buildings.
A number of structures in the Sumter
Historic District date from this period.
Among these buildings are the Sumter
County Courthouse (1907), Knight Brothers Store (c. 1890), and the opera house
(1893).
7 8 3 3 4 = 7 8 B C > A H > 5 6 A 4 4 = E 8 ; ; 4 2 > D = C H
eautiful Sumter is the county seat of
Sumter County. Both the city and the
county bear the name of General Thomas
Sumter, hero of the American Revolution
who rallied South Carolinians in the dark
days following the British occupation of
Charleston. For his tenacity even in the
face of defeat, Sumter earned the nickname “Gamecock.”
First settled in the 1780s at a rural
crossroads, the village grew and in 1798
became the site of the new Sumter District courthouse. Even so, the district did
not build either a courthouse or a jail until
1806, and lack of rail or river access limited development. In 1812, the struggling village had only a few residents
and little commerce. Nevertheless,
in 1843, the situation changed as a
branch of the South Carolina Railroad connected the county seat with
wider markets. In 1845, the South
Carolina legislature incorporated
the town as Sumterville. In 1871, the
legislature officially chartered the
county seat as Sumter.
Sumter lies in the virtual center
of the state and as such, was an important hub for commerce and trade.
During the Civil War, according to
Rickie Good, Confederate forces
used the town as a distribution center
prompting General Edward Potter’s raid in April 1865. Gen. Potter
established his headquarters in the
town of Sumter. With a Union force
of over 2000 men, he then focused on
destroying rail connections, stock and
0;4G809>=4B74;B;4H
County Focus
77
Construction on the opera house,
Sumter’s second, began in 1893. The
original town hall and opera house stood
on the same site until destroyed by fire
in 1872. Sumter’s first theatre occupied
the second floor. Major touring shows
played there and singers such as Clara
Louise Kellogg, performed there. The
New York trained Kellogg was a native
of Sumter and a noted prima donna who
organized her own opera company in
1874 and toured the United States. She
retired from performing in 1886 and
published her memoirs in 1913.
The building’s clock tower is a city
focal point. Listed on the National Register in 1973, today, the opera house is a
venue for musical and theatrical concerts
and productions.
William Augustus Edwards, a wellknown South Carolina architect, designed the Sumter County Courthouse.
Completed in 1907, the new courthouse
replaced an earlier courthouse built in
1821. William Jay designed the 1821
structure. Including the Sumter building,
Edwards designed nine courthouses in
South Carolina.
Since World War II, Sumter has benefited from its association with Shaw Air
Force Base. Shaw is home to several units
including the 20th Fighter Wing (the U.S.
Air Force’s largest combat F-16 wing),
9th Air Force/US Central Command Air
Forces and related units. Shaw is a major
employer in the area and contributes
significantly to the local economy.
Between 1985 and 1990, Sumter was
home to the Sumter Braves, a Single A
affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. The team
played at Riley Park and players included
such future stars as David Justice and
Tom Glavine, inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 1912, Sumter became one of the
first cities to adopt the council-manager
form of government. Under this governance, the city has an elected mayor
and council who employ a professional
city manager to oversee the city’s daily
operations.
Sumter is an educational center with
award-winning public and private schools
and several institutions of higher education. The county seat is home to Morris
College, Central Carolina Technical Col-
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Volume 26, Number 3
lege and the University of South Carolina
Sumter. Morris College is a private college operated by the Baptist Educational
and Missionary Convention of South
Carolina. Established in 1908, the name
of the college honors the Reverend Frank
Morris, an African-American leader. Dr.
Edward M. Brawley was the college’s first
president. Graduates include civil rights
activists and South Carolina legislators.
The University of South Carolina Sumter
is one of four regional campuses of the
University of South Carolina’s Palmetto
College. Founded in 1965 as a two-year
branch of Clemson University, in 1973 the
campus became a branch of the University of South Carolina.
Twenty-five years ago, the Sumter
County Museum opened. Dedicated to
preserving the “history of Old Sumter
District,” the museum includes the Williams-Brice House, the Heritage Education Center and the Carolina Backcountry
Homestead. The Williams-Brice house
dates from 1916 and in 1972 the WilliamsBrice estate donated the property for use
as a museum.
After decades of decline, in 1997
concerned residents organized the Downtown Sumter ReviLost Columbia: Bygone Images
talization Commitof South Carolina’s Capital City
tee. This commit(Charleston: the History Press, 2008)
tee worked with
the city and other
Lost Columbia combines an overview of
groups to sponsor
the turbulent history of Columbia with
cultural programs,
rare and little seen images of the city’s
improve city parks,
destruction in 1865, the Assembly Street
farmers’ market, the changing face of
and revitalize the
Main Street and lost institutions and
city. As a result,
neighborhoods.
Sumter, although
still a commercial
hub, is also a center for the arts. In
C O L U M B I A
2010, the city’s population was 40,524.
Modern Sumter
deeply rooted in
the rich history of
the state is proud of
its “uncommon patriotism” and “progressive spirit.”
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A L E X I A
J O N E S
H E L S L E Y
Lost Columbia is available in bookstores
such as Barnes & Noble, from Amazon.
com, or by mail from AJH Historical Enterprises, P.O. Box 3683, Irmo, SC 29063.
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County Focus
79
County Update
+Counties Reporting in
This Issue of County
Update:
Abbeville
Aiken
Allendale
Anderson
+ Bamberg
Barnwell
+Beaufort
Berkeley
Calhoun
+ Charleston
Cherokee
Chester
Chesterfield
Clarendon
Colleton
Darlington
Dillon
Dorchester
Edgefield
Fairfield
Florence
+Georgetown
Greenville
+ Greenwood
Hampton
+ Horry
Jasper
Kershaw
Lancaster
Laurens
Lee
Lexington
Marion
Marlboro
McCormick
Newberry
Oconee
Orangburg
Pickens
+ Richland
Saluda
Spartanburg
Sumter
Union
Williamsburg
+ York
See South Carolina
County Map,
Page 87
Keeping you informed
K
about what’s happening in
South Carolina’s counties.
This section of County Focus Magazine
provides South Carolina county officials an
opportunity to submit newsworthy items that
may be of interest to the magazine’s readers.
For more information, please contact
SCAC’s Public Information Office at 1-800922-6081.
Bamberg
O Bamberg County recently earned an “A”
credit rating from Standard & Poor’s following
a months-long effort by the county’s leadership to engage with the bond rating agency to
earn a credit rating. The county was previously
unrated.
“The citizens of Bamberg County trusted
us to step up and turn things around,” said
SCAC Presidents
2015
Marion County
2014
James R. Frazier
Horry County
2013
Joseph R. Branham
Chester County
2012
Charles T. Edens
Sumter County
2011
Joseph B. Dill
Greenville County
2010
R. Carlisle Roddey
Chester County
2009
Diane B. Anderson
Laurens County
2008
Richland County
2007
Florence County
2006
Belinda D. Copeland
Darlington County
2004-05 Waymon Mumford
Florence County
2004
Barrett S. Lawrimore
Charleston County
2003
Gonza L. Bryant
Greenwood County
2002
James A. Coleman
Laurens County
2001
Steve S. Kelly, Jr.
Kershaw County
2000
James H. Rozier, Jr.
Berkeley County
80
Volume 26, Number 3
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
Polly C. Jackson
Lancaster County
Robert R. Nash, Sr.
Pickens County
Alzena Robinson
Bamberg County
Betty T. Roper
Clarendon County
George E. Bomar
Greenville County
Raymond C. Eubanks, Jr.
Spartanburg County
William L. McBride
Beaufort County
Belle J. Kennette
Greenwood County
James R. McGee
Orangeburg County
Kenneth R. Huckaby
Spartanburg County
Lowell C. (Butch) Spires
Lexington County
Calhoun County
Danny E. Allen
Spartanburg County
O.V. Player, Jr.
Sumter County
Sue H. Roe
Aiken County
Charlie I. Crews
Hampton County
1983
James P. Whitlock
Pickens County
1982
Lonnie Hamilton III
Charleston County
1981
Alfred B. Schooler
Georgetown County
1980
Howard A. Taylor
Charleston County
1979
Marjorie H. Sharpe
Lexington County
1978
Berry L. Mobley
Lancaster County
1977
E.E. Johnson
Hampton County
1976
Harold L. King
Darlington County
1975
Jack Q. Gerrald
Horry County
1974
Arthur H. Burton
Charleston County
1973
James O. Thomason
Spartanburg County
1972
J. Hugh McCutchen
Williamsburg County
1971
John L. Greer
Union County
1969-70 J. Mitchell Graham
Charleston County
1967-68 Charles W. Lawrimore
Georgetown County
Bamberg County Council Chairman Joe
Guess, Jr. “They had enough confidence in
us to approve a sales tax increase and allow
us to engage in innovative bond financing, and
now we’re able to deliver on our promises of
improving their infrastructure while maintaining up-to-date fiscal policies and processes we
can all be proud of.”
The county’s credit rating impacts bonds
issued in 2013 by the Bamberg Facilities Corporation. Those bonds were issued to pay for a
number of projects, including those approved
by the voters in the 2012 capital projects sales
tax referendum. The county now hopes to
work with the corporation to refinance the
2013 bonds at a lower interest rate.
“We were able to construct a new courthouse annex and a lot of other infrastructure
improvements because of this,” said Joey
Preston, Bamberg County Administrator.
“We had a lot of help from experts in this
kind of complicated financing, help that
empowered our County Council members to
execute their vision of how we can take our
community into a bright future ahead.”
“I am delighted that Bamberg County
has been awarded an “A” credit rating from
Standard and Poor’s,” said Alice P. Johnson,
Bamberg County Treasurer. “This is an
achievement that is the result of hard work,
team effort, and the determination to be in
a better place. This rating should help the
county get better interest rates which will save
money for our taxpayers.”
Standard & Poor’s is a bond rating
agency based in New York. It examines local governments all of over the country and
assigns ratings based on a number of factors,
which are weighted towards a local government’s overall financial health and quality of
its management.
“Bamberg County went from pretty
desperate financial straits to A-rated credit
in two years,” said Brent Robertson of Stifel,
a brokerage and investment banking firm.
“That’s really exceptional and speaks to the
hard choices made and hard work put in
by the county’s leaders in turning this ship
around in such an unusually short amount of
time.
who demonstrate the imagination, creativity
and energy to help children of South Carolina
become life-long readers.
Bascom was recognized for her lifelong
personification of literacy, for the breadth and
depth of her contributions, her selfless dedication of time and effort, and the incomparable
quality of her service.
“Julie always has quality programming.
Parents, grandparents, as well as the children
love to come to the children’s room,” said
Mary Jo Berkes, Hilton Head Branch Library
Manager. “Her outreach programs to groups
that can’t come into the library are greatly
appreciated by our community. Julie is very
deserving of this special award.”
SCAC’S 2016
WEBCAST SCHEDULE
SCAC Webcasts to be scheduled soon! So, please
visit this calendar in future issues of Carolina Counties
Newsletter and County Focus Magazine.
For more information, please contact Leslie ChristyJennings, SCAC, at (803) 252-7255 or ljennings@scac.sc.
Or visit SCAC’s webcast page at: http://www.sccounties.
org/webcast-training
SCAC’s 2015-16 Conference Calendar
Nov. 20
S.C. Local Government Attorneys’ Institute
Embassy Suites, Columbia
Dec. 3–4
Legislative Conference
The Mills House, Charleston
2016
Feb. 17
Feb. 18
Mid-Year Conference for County Officials
Institute of Government
July 31–Aug. 3
July 30–31
Annual Conference
Institute of Government
NACo’s 2016
Conference Calendar
Beaufort County
O Julie Bascom, Hilton Head Branch Library’s Youth Services Manager, was among
several individuals receiving the 2015 Peggy
Parish Award at an award ceremony held on
Sept. 8 at the S.C. Center for Children’s Books
and Literacy in Columbia. The University
of South Carolina’s School of Library and
Information Science presents the award in
memory of Peggy Parish to honor individuals
OThrough a generous donation from the
Friends of the Beaufort Library, the Children’s Programming Room at the Beaufort
Branch Library has received all new carpeting and paint. The room’s floors and walls,
well-worn after decades of children’s events,
is now bright, new and ready for the Library’s
full schedule of fall programming. The room’s
kitchenette also received new floor covering,
as did the foyer leading into the room.
“The Friends of the Beaufort Library,
through their Scott Street Renovation Fund,
are delighted that the children will have a
cleaner, brighter, and more inviting room
for their activities and hope to continue raising money to fund additional renovations,
Feb. 20–24
Legislative Conference
Marriott Wardman, Washington, D.C.
July 22–25
Annual Conference and Exposition
Los Angeles County (Long Beach), Calif.
County Focus
81
which are sorely needed,” said Friends of
the Beaufort Library’s President Marilyn
Harcharik. “The Fund was initially seeded
by the members of the Clover Club—a local
literary group that has been instrumental
throughout the library’s history. They started
the first circulating library in 1902, staffed by
their own members, and then spearheaded
the 1911 fund raising drive to build the initial
library in downtown Beaufort. The Friends
sincerely thank all donors for their support
in making this significant improvement.”
The project was completed in a little over
a week.
OThe Beaufort County Library System
has completed a wireless network upgrade
that will provide library patrons with faster,
more reliable wireless service at all five of
their locations.
“This improved service should create a
very positive new experience for our patrons,”
said Ray McBride, Library Director. “Users
will notice a major difference, with better,
faster service that covers the entire branch
library.”
The newly upgraded system supports
802.11 (b/g/n) and is compatible with the
latest in laptop, PDA and smartphone technology, allowing visitors to make the most
of their wireless devices while enjoying the
convenience and speed of an upgraded wireless network. This project was completed in
partnership with Beaufort County Management Information Systems.
Access to the upgraded wireless network
at the Beaufort County Library System is
available free of charge for everyone, and
patrons can connect without the use of a
library card or access code. Patrons can also
access the Library System’s wireless network
at all branches using their own devices, or
enjoy free access to the Internet at any of the
Library’s desktop computers.
OIn July 2015, Beaufort County introduced
Citizen Transparency, a user-friendly resource
providing meaningful information about
how the county utilizes public funds and the
sources of those funds. Much of the county’s
financial data has been available online for
several years, including annual and quarterly
budget reports, as well as vendor payment
reports, and department budgets; however,
Citizen Transparency will allow anyone with
access to a computer to sort, search, analyze,
and download the county’s financial information.
Unlike programs that only provide a
static snapshot of data, Citizen Transparency
will be updated weekly with the most recent
figures. Users can review total spending to
date, examine how funds are appropriated by
department, see which vendors receive pay-
82
Volume 26, Number 3
ments in a given year, or research spending
for any area of the county, including non-tax
dollar expenditures. Data is also available for
the past two fiscal years. Citizen Transparency also features easy-to-navigate graphics
with data organized by category, department,
government area, fund, and vendor. The
interactive charts and graphs allow for easy
analysis of the county’s financial data and give
meaning and clarity to those numbers.
Beaufort County Council and administrative staff began discussing Citizen Transparency last year during budget discussions, as a
tool to not only heighten financial transparency, but also to reduce the staff time and cost
associated with common record requests and
maximize convenience for citizens in accessing the county’s financial information. Tyler
Technologies, the county’s financial software
provider, developed the site, which is available
at www.bcgov.net.
OThe Beaufort County Board of Voter
Registration and Elections is partnering with
local convalescent and assisted living facilities
to ensure that Beaufort County’s immobile
residents and seniors are equipped with the
right documents to vote. These individuals are
least likely to have a current and valid photo
identification card. Several of these residents
were active voters in the county at one point,
but their status was categorized as “inactive”
in the Voter Registration System due to lack
of voting activity in recent years. During the
month of August 2015, more than 50 residents
were serviced.
OMorris C. Campbell retired as Beaufort County’s Community Services Director
after almost 35 years of public service for
the county, in June 2015. Campbell began
his tenure at the county as an elected official during two terms on Beaufort County
Council from 1981 to 1984. He then moved
to the administrative side, where he became
director of voter registration and elections
in 1986 and deputy administrator for human
services in 1991. Campbell led the county’s
Community Services Division from 1993 to
his retirement. As its executive director, he
coordinated with dozens of county outreach
and nonprofit organizations, including the
Disabilities and Special Needs Department,
the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Department,
the Collaborative Organization of Services for
Youth, the Human Services Alliance, Beaufort
County Library, Veterans Affairs, and the
Board of Voter Registration and Elections,
the Register of Deeds Office, and the Parks
and Leisure Services Department.
OBeaufort County named William J.
Love as the Executive Director of Beaufort
County’s Disabilities and Special Needs
Department in August 2015. Love has been
employed at the department for the past eight
years, most recently as Deputy Director. He
is a licensed professional counselor and a
National Board Certified Counselor. Prior
to joining Beaufort County, Love worked for
human services organizations in Pennsylvania
and North Carolina. He has a B.A. from York
College of Pennsylvania, a Master of Education in Social Restoration from Lehigh University, and he completed course work toward
a Ph.D. in Administration of Justice at Penn
State University. While working on his Ph.D.,
he also taught at Penn State.
OMaria Walls, CPA, was sworn in as the
Beaufort County Treasurer in July 2015.
Walls has since introduced a new website for
the Beaufort County Treasurer’s office, www.
beaufortcountytreasurer.com, which has been
designed to make it easier to track how much
money the county is collecting in taxes. The
website includes how-to videos, downloadable
data that tracks how much the office has collected in taxes on a monthly basis, as well as
the office’s data for the past five fiscal years.
Charleston County
O Charleston County announced on Sept. 9
that numerous state and local agencies across
the county had joined forces to revitalize
the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
(CJCC) in an effort to improve public safety
and the community’s well-being. The CJCC
brings leaders together to make sustainable improvements to the local criminal
justice system. The Council’s key goals are
to increase effectiveness and efficiency of
the justice system, examine and address issues of disproportionality and/or disparity,
maintain and enhance public safety, expand
evidence-based options to combat crime and
reduce reoffending, effectively utilize detention, increase public confidence in safety and
justice, and incorporate proactive, data-driven
decision making in the fight against crime.
The CJCC has selected Charleston
County Assistant Sheriff Mitch Lucas as
chairman and Chanda Brown, Director of
the Charleston Center and Deborah Blalock,
Executive Director of Charleston Dorchester
Mental Health Center as co-vice chairs. Other
members of the CJCC include representatives
from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office,
Charleston County Government, Charleston
County Clerk of Court, 9th Judicial Circuit,
Charleston County Magistrate Court, 9th
Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Charleston County
Public Defender’s Office, Charleston Police
Department, North Charleston Police Department, Mt. Pleasant Police Department,
Specialty Courts and S.C. Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
The CJCC has also established a group
of key community representatives and other
forums to ensure community engagement and
input along the journey ahead. Initially, the
CJCC is focused on a comprehensive analysis
of the local criminal justice system and will
then identify and implement strategies to improve effectiveness and efficiency. The CJCC
was recently awarded a highly competitive
Safety and Justice Challenge grant from the
MacArthur Foundation to assist in this effort,
and is being provided technical assistance by
experts from the Justice Management Institute.
“We have been given an opportunity to
conduct an unprecedented analysis of our system, identify opportunities for improvement,
break new ground and improve the impact our
system of justice has on this community,” said
Chairman Mitch Lucas. “Together, we have
the potential to revolutionize Charleston
County’s criminal justice system and become
an exemplary regional model for others in the
Southeast.”
O Charleston County Council recognized
EMS employees Reggie Davis and Tonya
Chapman for saving the life of a two-yearold child, who arrived unresponsive with
his parents at St. John’s Fire Station on July
21. As firefighers started basic life support
measures, they arrived and determined that
it was necessary to continue airway-clearing
procedures. Their efforts paid off and were
credited with saving the child’s life.
OCharleston County’s Technology Service’s Geographical Information Systems
(GIS) Division announced on Aug. 5 that it
had launched an updated version of its webpage. This searchable page includes a hyperlink by Parcel ID number providing seamless
access to the property tax website, the ability
to generate mailing labels and add graphics
to enhance presentations. Plus, users will now
have the ability to use mobile devices and use
the Google Street View. Other benefits of the
new system include:
• Current up-to-date GIS data available
24/7
• The latest imagery collected in January
2015 (plus 2001, 2009, 2012)
• The use of latest GIS ESRI technology
• Supports Google Chrome, IE10 or
greater and Mozilla Firefox
• Greater flexibility in moving through the
website with pan and zoom controls
“The roll-out of the new website was
driven by changes in technology and the
need to make the latest GIS data available to
the user community,” said GIS Coordinator
Brenda Wheatley. “As we all know, change
can be trying and difficult. Over time, I feel
the user community will agree the new website
is much more efficient than the previous one.”
The original website, created in 1998,
was updated in 2005.
Georgetown County
O County staff and contractors have been
busy across all regions of Georgetown County
with about 60 capital projects currently in
progress or pending on the county’s roster.
These range from construction and renovation work, to road paving and other continuous projects. The projects are being funded
under the Capital Project Sales Tax, which
went into effect on May 1.
O Judy Evans Blankenship of Murrells
Inlet, a level II planner with the Georgetown
County Planning Department, was recognized
on Aug. 25 as the county’s Employee of the
Quarter for the second quarter of this year.
An employee of the county for seven years,
Blankenship’s many duties include preparing
reports and recommendations for the Planning Commission, as well as reviewing all plats
and subdivisions. Additionally, she prepares
elements of the county’s comprehensive plan
and advises the public regarding development
issues. In every respect of her job, Blankenship consistently proves herself to be an asset
to the county, said her supervisor, Planning
Department Director Boyd Johnson. Johnson
nominated Blankenship for the award and she
was selected from a pool of candidates by a
panel of county directors. Some of Blankenship’s recent accomplishments include authoring the economic development element
of the comprehensive plan and completing
a draft of the revised population element of
the plan. She previously drafted the housing
element and greatly assisted in revising the
land use element.
OMPW Industrial Services will open a new
industrial water regeneration plant in the
Georgetown County Business Center, located
in Andrews. The plant, a $10 million project,
is expected to begin operations next summer
and create 32 jobs, in addition to temporary
construction jobs. The company has purchased an existing building constructed and
owned by Georgetown County and will refit
it to suit their needs.
“We are delighted that MPW Industrial
services has chosen to locate in Georgetown
County and make an investment of this size
here,” said Georgetown County Council
Chairman Johnny Morant. “The jobs the
company will bring will have a lasting impact
and greatly benefit our community and the
Andrews area in particular. We are committed to working with and attracting businesses
that provide more opportunities for Georgetown County residents, and we consider
MPW’s decision a great success.”
The site purchased by MPW is located
at 373 Technology Dr., in the same industrial
park where SafeRack operates. Construction
is expected to begin this fall. State and local
officials are providing $225,000 in incentives
for the project. The new plant will enable
MPW to meet the needs of its growing
customer base in the Southeast, said Jared
Black, general manger for MPW’s Industrial
Water division.
The Georgetown facility will be MPW’s
fifth regeneration plant. The others are in
Newark, Ohio; Port Arthur, Texas; Sedalia,
Mo.; and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
O Georgetown County’s recycling rate
has increased for the third consecutive year,
according to the Environmental Services
Division of the Georgetown County Public
Services Department. This year’s 6 percent
increase is the largest year-to-year increase
the county’s recycling rate has seen, and
brings Georgetown County’s total recycling
rate to 30.8 percent, said Fred Davis, the
division’s superintendent. Davis credits the
Georgetown County Green Business program/partnership and landfill management
waste diversion efforts for the increase.
“Our commercial and industrial partnerships, along with our nearly 200 Green Business Commercial Recycling program participants helped to increase the total amount of
material we are able to recycle,” Davis said.
The county has also expanded its yard waste
collection efforts, and has begun recycling
pallets and clean wood as a fuel source.
Ray Funnye, Public Services Department director, said he is pleased to see such
a significant increase this year.
“When you hear 6 percent, some people
might not think it sounds like much, but it’s an
increase of more than four million pounds of
recyclables,” Funnye explained. “As a county,
we continue to make progress and with the
support of the business community and the
continued efforts of the public, we will continue to increase our recycling rate.”
The County has a goal of a 40 percent
recycling rate by 2020.
O The Georgetown County Emergency
Management Division has been named an
ambassador for NOAA’s Weather-Ready
Nation initiative. The initiative formally recognizes National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration partners who are improving the nation’s readiness against extreme
weather, water and climate events.
As a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador, the Georgetown County Emergency
Management Division is committed to
working with NOAA and other ambassadors
around the country to strengthen national
County Focus
83
resilience against extreme weather, said Cindy
Grace, the county’s emergency management
coordinator. Extreme weather events could
include hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, or even
heat and cold.
“Our designation as a Weather-Ready
Nation Ambassador will give us access to
more information and better tools to inform
the public on how to prepare for, respond to
and minimize the impacts of extreme weather, water and climate events,” Grace said.
Ambassadors work to inspire others to
be better informed and prepared, helping to
minimize or even avoid the impacts of natural
disasters, and empower community residents
to make life-saving decisions that also prevent
devastating economic losses.
According to NOAA, the United States
is becoming increasingly vulnerable to weather events due to societal changes represented
in demographic trends, growing infrastructure threats and an increased reliance on
technology. Trends such as urban sprawl and
conversion of rural land to suburban landscapes increase the likelihood a tornado will
impact densely populated areas. More overlap in the U.S. economy means that a single
weather event can have a significant effect on
several industries.
O Justin Lenker, a firefighter and emer-
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Volume 26, Number 3
gency medical technician with Midway Fire
Rescue, has been selected as the Georgetown
County Emergency Services Department’s
Employee of the Quarter for the second
quarter of 2015. He has been employed with
the county for one year.
Lenker “does a huge amount of behindthe-scenes work for our department and really
makes all of us look good,” said Midway battalion chief Brent McClellan, who nominated
Lenker for the award. Lenker’s savvy with
technology and social media has helped the
department expand its communication with
the public, getting out important safety information and other messages. He also helped
update and improve Midway’s website, making it fresher and more user-friendly.
“Justin truly does a great job, going above
and beyond the normal daily duties, and it
benefits all,” McClellan said.
O Georgetown County Sheriff Lane
Cribb’s third annual Summer Academy
finished up recently, with eight high school
students completing the week-long program.
The Summer Academy introduces students
to all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office and the
daily duties of a sheriff’s deputy. Students
participated in activities with the uniform
patrol division, criminal investigations, crime
scene analysis, judicial services, the detention
center, the 911 communications center and
the special operations unit. Upon graduation,
each cadet received a certificate of completion and a Sheriff’s Office challenge coin.
“It was a huge success, and I wish we
could have one every month,” Cribb said of
the academy.
OTwo Georgetown County Public Services
Department employees have been recognized
by the S.C. Chapter of the American Public
Works Association (SCAPWA) for outstanding work. Herb Puckett and Timothy Chatman were announced in July as 2015 state
award winners. They will be recognized by the
association’s awards committee at the group’s
annual conference in November.
Puckett, manager for Georgetown County’s Facilities Services Division, was named
the 2015 Outstanding Public Works Manager.
Puckett has been employed with Georgetown
County for more than 13 years. Currently,
he and his division are near completing the
remodeling of the 44,000-square-foot historic
county courthouse on Screven Street. Puckett
and his team saved the county more than $1.5
million by completing renovations in-house.
When Puckett isn’t improving county
buildings, he is committed to the Georgetown
County Sheriff’s Office, providing inmates
with work skills training to give them the best
opportunity for hire upon release from jail.
His initiative and passion have made him an
exemplary public works manager, said Ray
Funnye, director of the Georgetown County
Public Services Department.
Chatman, stormwater compliance inspector for the county, was named the 2015
Outstanding Public Works Employee. Chatman has been employed with Georgetown
County for seven years. He began his career
as mosquito control supervisor, and has since
become the stormwater compliance inspector,
as well. Chatman is known in the county for
his green thumb.
He is a Master Gardener and assists
Keep Georgetown Beautiful in developing
landscape plans for parks and improved city
projects. Chatman’s zeal and love for his
community are beyond worthy of this award,
Funnye said.
SCAPWA develops and supports the
people, agencies and organizations that plan,
build, maintain, and improve our communities.
O Shane Kingsford, a firefighter/EMT 2
with Midway Fire Rescue, was recently presented with a Meritorious Action Award by
the S.C. State Fire Fighter’s Association for
his off-duty rescue of the two civilians from
the ocean near the Litchfield Inn. The award
was presented by association president Will
Vaigner during the 108th annual S.C. FireRescue Conference, held in Myrtle Beach.
Kingsford performed the rescue last
September. His actions also earned him the
Medal of Valor from Midway during its annual awards ceremony. Kingsford was having
lunch in Litchfield on the day of the rescue.
Though off duty and without equipment to
aid in the rescue, Kingsford responded immediately, running toward the two victims,
who were caught in a rip current.
OKathleen “Kathy” Byrne Gramet of
Pawleys Island and Syracuse, N.Y., passed
away on June 3 at Upstate University Hospital. She was 66 and will be remembered by
many for her lifelong dedication to education
and literacy, as well as the poise, grace and
generosity to others that characterized her
life. These traits remained strong throughout
her last months.
The wife of Alan Gramet, Kathy was
a retired educator, having started as a
teacher and advanced to principal, assistant
superintendent for instruction, and eventually superintendent of schools for the North
Syracuse Central School District. During
chance encounters in airports, supermarkets
and elsewhere, family and friends became
accustomed to witnessing the heartfelt thanks
her former students expressed to her for her
life-changing concern.
Kathy’s commitment to the power of
education was expressed throughout her life
in a variety of community service activities.
After retiring to Pawleys Island, she became a
dedicated member of the Friends of the Waccamaw Library, later serving as the group’s
president. Her dedication to the Friends and
their mission of building a new Waccamaw
Library was key to the project’s completion
earlier this year. Tragically, she never saw the
new library she worked so hard for.
O A program that helps inmates at the
Georgetown County Detention Center avoid
recidivism recently earned state honors. The
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office received
the Founders Day Law Enforcement Community Partner Award at the S.C. Department of
Corrections Training Academy in Columbia.
The award was for its Re-entry Program.
The Founders Day Award is presented to
an individual or agency that has shown dedication to reducing the number of young adults
returning to prison and had a major systemic
impact. The Georgetown County Detention
Center Re-entry Program was implemented
in 2007 by Sheriff Lane Cribb to encourage
the rehabilitation of inmates prior to their
release back into society. Nearly 200 inmates
have completed the program. According to
data from the National Crime Information
Center, there has been no recidivism for those
who have completed the program.
The S.C. Department of Corrections’ Division of Young Offender Parole and Re-entry
Services selected the Georgetown County
Sheriff’s Office as the recipient of the award
for its commitment to reduce recidivism and
victimization by supporting effective re-entry
services, as well as the department’s willingness to include youthful offenders—under
the supervision of the state Department of
Corrections—in its efforts.
Debbie Barr, Re-entry Program Director, accepted the award in Columbia on
behalf of Sheriff Cribb. Recently, Barr also
received a Community Service Award from
the Rotary Club of Georgetown for her work
in 2014. she was recommended for the award
by Chief Michael Schwartz, the Georgetown
County Detention Center administrator, who
said Barr shows great compassion for each
inmate that she works with. In her job, Barr
provides and coordinates trade courses and
certifications for program participants, better
enabling them to secure employment prior to
their release from jail. She also assists each
inmate in obtaining the documents needed
for employment.
O S.C. Reps. Carl Anderson (D-Georgetown) and Stephen Goldfinch (R-Pawleys
Island) introduced a House Resolution, H.
4222, recognizing Mid-way Fire Rescue for
receiving the Heart Safe Community Award
earlier this year. The Resolution was formally
presented to Battalion Chief Brent McClellan
and Fire Chief Doug Eggiman during an afternoon session of the House. The resolution will
hang in the lobby at Midway’s headquarters
station in Litchfield.
Midway Fire Rescue has been named
a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly workplace
by the American Heart Association for the
fourth year in a row. The award recognizes
the department’s initiatives to help employees
eat better and be more active.
“This award illustrates our dedication
to the health and wellness of our employees
and volunteers,” said Midway Chief Doug
Eggiman. “An additional benefit of that commitment is that it also puts us in a better place
to take care of the citizens we serve.”
Platinum-level employers offer employees physical activity options in the workplace;
implement at least nine criteria outlined by
the American Heart Association in the areas
of physical activity, nutrition and culture; and
demonstrate measurable outcomes related to
workplace wellness.
O Georgetown County Correctional Officer James D. Law has received the Bert
Friday Award from the S.C. Criminal Justice
Academy. The award was presented during
the Academy’s graduation ceremony for the
Basic Jail Training Class No. 351.
The Academy presents the Bert Friday
Award to the student with the highest academic average in written tests administered
during the training class. Law, 24, of Georgetown, had the highest academic average out
of 46 graduates. Officers who successfully
complete the training class earn a certification
in S.C. as professional correctional officers.
“I am delighted James Law received
such a prestigious award,” said Georgetown
County Sheriff Lane Cribb. “I believe it shows
his hard work and commitment to being a
professional correctional officer.”
O Hunter Smith, a firefighter/EMT with
Georgetown County Fire/EMS, was recently
presented with the Outstanding Leadership
Award at the Pee Dee Regional EMS training
facility. Smith started the paramedic program
at the facility last fall.
“Since then, we have been hearing very
good reports from his instructor at Pee Dee
Regional EMS on how well he has been doing
in the program,” said Tony Hucks, assistant
chief with County Fire/EMS.
The staff at Pee Dee Regional EMS
nominated Smith for the award. Hucks and
Chief Mack Reed presented the award.
“Smith has taken on a leadership role,
excelling in every aspect of the program and
providing support to his classmates,” Hucks
said. “We are proud of him and wish him the
very best in his future career as a firefighter/
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paramedic.”
Greenwood County
OThe 2015 Aviation Expo, held at the
Greenwood County Airport on June 27,
proved to be another successful installment
in what has become a much anticipated
yearly family favorite event on the Greenwood County calendar. The EXPO Steering
Committee met its primary goal by providing
an all-day, fun, affordable ($10.00 per car),
family friendly event designed to promote
aviation.
Greenwood County once again generously agreed to be a major sponsor, which was
also a sanctioned event of the South Carolina
Festival of Flowers. The gates opened at 9
am, featuring a wealth of activities appealing
to a wide range of interests such as plane
rides, helicopter rides, monster truck rides,
military vehicle and helicopter displays by
the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, pilot
demonstrations by the Radio Controlled
Aircraft Club, Classic Car Show featuring DJ
Pat Patterson (including a “Shagging on the
Taxiway” contest at noon), Air Race, static
displays of unique airplanes, a fly-in for area
pilots, parachute jumpers, a jet van, and a
world-class air show featuring performers
Gary Ward, Greg Connell, Lima Lima Flight
Team, and more.
This year the S.C. Aviation Association
added to the fun by partnering their Southeastern Aviation Expo event with the Greenwood Aviation Expo offering training classes
and vendors focused on pilots. The Aviation
Association wrapped up the event with a pilot breakfast and training classes on Sunday
morning.
Approximately 4,885 people attended,
approximately one-third of whom came from
outside the County. The economic impact
of the event to the County was well over
$500,000.
Horry County
O The Horry County Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation, the
City of North Myrtle Beach, the Driftwood
Garden Club, the Yaupon Garden Club, and
the Horry County Historical Society hosted a
dedication for the Horry County Patriot Tree
Project Sept. 11 at McLean Park in North
Myrtle Beach. The Horry County Patriot Tree
Project pairs historic trees with soldiers from
Horry County who served during the Civil
War. Each tree has a QR code marker which
directs smart phone users to a website listing
the soldier’s name, birth date, birth place,
death date, burial place, and other available
details of the soldier’s service.
O The Horry County Solid Waste Authority
recently recognized Loris resident Michael
Blanton, as the “Caught Green Handed”
recipient for the month of July. The Horry
County Solid Waste Authority recently recognized Mount Olive area resident Gary
Blakley, as the “Caught Green Handed”
recipients for the month of June.
“The ‘Caught Green Handed’ recognition is presented monthly to a Horry County
resident caught in the act of recycling” stated
Esther Murphy, Director of Recycling and
Corporate Affairs for the Solid Waste Authority. “It’s the Solid Waste Authority’s way of
recognizing and thanking citizens who have
made the effort to recycle. Through their
recycling efforts, natural resources are saved
and the amount of waste being landfilled is
reduced.”
OEducators and staff from Horry County
Schools were recently honored during the
Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s 22nd
Annual Environmental Awards Banquet held
on July 21, 2015 in Conway.
Certificates of Environmental Improvement were awarded to River Oaks Elementary, Homewood Elementary, Midland Elementary, and Palmetto Bays Elementary for
their continued efforts in recycling and waste
reduction. The Green Spark Award was pre-
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Counties and County Seats
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sented to Seaside Elementary for their unique
outlets and materials to spark environmental
awareness. Items, such as crayons, Colgate
items, chip bags, shoes, Elmer’s glue, scotch
tape, writing utensils, batteries, and juice
pouches are recycled within the school.
Burgess Elementary, Conway Elementary, Ocean Bay Middle, and Early College
High School were each honored with the
Gold Star Award for their exceptional efforts
in their school recycling programs during the
2014-15 school year. This includes the classroom paper recycling program as well as the
cafeteria recycling program.
Jamey Couch of St. James Elementary
and Renee Fowler of Ocean Drive Elementary were each recognized with the Recycling
Super Star Award for their dedication and
leadership in conserving the environment at
school and in the community. All have suc-
cessfully created sustainable recycling and
waste reduction programs within their school.
Laura Randolph of Conway Elementary
School was named the 2014-2015 Recycling
Liaison of the Year for her leadership and
diligence in promoting recycling and environmental awareness in her school.
The Solid Waste Authority’s highest
honor, the Environmental Eagle Award,
was presented to Jim Swaim of Drift Along
Natural Designs. Swaim was honored for his
contributions to the environmental wellbeing
of Horry County through his work in designing artwork and sculptures from litter he has
collected.
O The Certificate of Achievement for
Excellence in Financial Reporting has been
awarded to Horry County by the Government
Finance Officers Association of the United
States and Canada (GFOA) for its compre-
hensive annual financial report (CAFR) for
the year ended June 30, 2014. The Certificate
of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting
and financial reporting, and its attainment
represents a significant accomplishment by a
government and its management.
An Award of Financial Reporting
Achievement has been awarded to the Horry
County Finance Department.
The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the standards of the
program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly
communicate its financial story and motivate
potential users and user groups to read the
CAFR. The Horry County CAFR can be read
in full, on its website at www.horrycounty.org.
This is the 28th consecutive year that Horry
County has received this award.
County Focus
87
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional
association serving approximately 17,500
government financial professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.
Richland County
O Richland County has been named a
Cigna Well-Being Award honoree for the
county’s commitment to improving the
health and wellness of employees through its
workplace programs. The award from the international health service company recognizes
the efforts of the Human Resources Department, which developed a five-year health and
wellness strategic plan to improve employee’s
health and save money.
“Cigna has always been a leader in driving health improvement in the workplace and
we are committed to recognizing programs
such as Richland County’s,” said Charlie Pitts,
General Manager for Cigna.
Cigna, Richland County’s healthcare
provider, created the Well-Being Award
to recognize employer clients that have a
positive impact on the health and well-being
of their workers. Applicants, reviewed and
judged by an internal review committee from
Cigna, are evaluated based on the core components of their wellness program, including
the goals, implementation, incentives, leadership engagement and employee participation.
“The health and wellness of Richland
County employees and retirees has been one
of our top priorities for many years,” said
Dwight Hanna, Richland County Human
Resources Director. “We’re extremely hon-
ored to be selected as a winner of the Cigna
Well-Being Award.”
Richland County employees participate
in health fairs, onsite seminars, physical challenges and more. In addition, Golden Apple
Awards are presented to employees nominated by other employees for their wellness
achievements, such as losing weight.
The county’s wellness program also
evaluates and identifies trends that will provide healthcare cost savings. Employees who
participate in the program receive a $600
reduction on their healthcare premiums for
the year. Their participation in the program
is tracked through Cigna’s web-based MotivateMe incentive program.
Hanna said the combination of Cigna’s
technology platform and first-class professionals assigned to work with the County
has resulted in numerous benefits. Cigna
helped Richland County automate its wellness program, eliminating the reliance on
paper records. And various wellness incentive
options have helped employees and retirees
achieve healthy lifestyle goals.
“Cigna has been an awesome partner for
Richland County,” Hanna said.
York County
O On Sept. 3, 2015, York County held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening
of Cooperative Way (formerly Arrow Road)
in York, S.C. This project was a joint effort
between York County, City of York and York
Electric Cooperative.
O York County, in cooperation with a local
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radio station, is preparing short, three-minute
public information programs highlighting
various county-sponsored activities and programs. Called “York County On the Move,”
this new series of short programs cover a variety of topics involving interviews with county
staff. The radio station has agreed to air these
special programs throughout the work week.
Programs so far have included discussions of
the county’s Pennies for Progress Program,
Public Safety Communications/911 department, recent drought conditions and news
about the county’s soon-to-be complete Fire
Training Center. Taped programs will be available on the county’s web page.
O York County’s Department of Public
Safety Communications was one of only four
911 agencies in South Carolina in 2013 to earn
the CALEA Public Safety Communications
Accreditation Award. Earning this distinct
recognition from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies
required that the county comply with more
than 200 national communication standards,
including organization, direction, supervision,
human resources, recruitment, operations
and preparation for critical incidents. Since
receiving their initial accreditation, county
staff has been busy preparing for the department’s reaccreditation when CALEA evaluators will re-visit the department later this year.
The CALEA Program requires that certified
agencies be re-evaluated every three years.
O York County Council awarded the renovation of the Historic Courthouse in York to
Leitner Construction of Rock Hill. The $7.3
million project has an expected completion
date of August 2016.
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Greenville
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Spartanburg
864 585 5678

No. 3 (Nov. 2015) - South Carolina Association of Counties

Transcription

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