Darlington County School Board Passes $82 Million Budget Amount up to the 7.5

LOCAL AUTHOR 1B 2A OPINION 4A OBITUARIES 7A SPORTS 2B PUZZLES 4B BOOKINGS 7B CLASSIFIEDS QUOTE ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ EDMUND BURKE Vol. 143, No. 25 NTWO SECTIONS e• 16 PAGwES s&PreESTAs BLISHsED 1874 75¢ JUNE 21, 2017 Darlington, S.C. WWW.NEWSANDPRESS.NET Darlington County School Board passes $82 million budget amount up to the 7.5. mills. for several years. Darlington County. compensate our employees; we places, the district is not scram - By Melissa Rollins Editor Smith said that not everyone “We haven’t done it for a “The board determined by would like to stick with the two bling to take care of their mon - [email protected] would be affected by the number of years,” Smith said. the needs of our district that we percent raise. We want to con - etary responsibilities. The Darlington County increase the same. “A lot of districts raise millage would need to raise it 7.5,” tinue to compensate them so The 2017-2018 budget, with School District voted unani - “When you are looking at every year. We have a cap on Smith said. “That is for operat - we had to raise millage to pay pay increases for all employees mously during their June 12 millage you have to remember how much we can raise but we ing expenses. A lot of people, our employees.” and increases in retirement meeting to pass the 2017-2018 that homeowners are exempt were able to go back three not just school districts, are Smith cautioned anyone costs coming in at over a mil - budget, which includes a 7.5 from our operating millage, years and add up what we dealing with the two percent from thinking that the district lion dollars each, is $82 million millage increase. which is what we increased, so could and include it.” retirement increase that is raising millage to pad their dollars. In previous meetings, Chief their tax will not go up,” Smith The Consumer Price Index employers are having to pick bank account. The district is The estimated expenditure Finance Officer Ashley Smith said. “On cars and things of determines the cap on millage up. That is over a million dol - legally required to keep a base increase from last year’s budget said that the board had the that nature, it will go up.” increases. The cap is based on lars just for us. We received a of at least 30 days of operating is $4.5 million. option of keeping millage the Smith said that the board the population, which has little bit of funding to help us expenses in the bank so that if same or increasing it by some had made no millage increase actually decreased in cover that but we also want to some catastrophic event takes DCSD ON 3A Hartsville passes budget, preps for traffic roundabout budget prior to the June 30 By Samantha Lyles Staff Writer deadline. New fiscal year budg - [email protected] ets begin on July 1. Hartsville City Council con - In other matters, Council vened their regular monthly approved a bid award of meeting on June 13 and unani - $681,195 to Lawrimore mously approved first reading Construction of Conway to of a $9.9 million General Fund relocate water and sewer lines budget for the 2017/18 fiscal on Carolina Avenue. This relo - year. cation will allow for future con - The budget package in struction of a traffic circle (also Ordinance 4296 also includes a called a roundabout) at the Water and Sewer Utilities intersection where West Enterprise Fund budget of Carolina Avenue and West $3,976,500, an Infrastructure Home Avenue converge. Funds Fund budget of $654,000, a will be taken from the Solid Waste Fund budget of Water/Sewer contingency fund $1,437,000, a Hospitality Fee to pay for this project. Fund budget of $994,500, an Council approved $37,832 Accommodations Tax Fund to buy a Ford F250 with a Par budget of $185,000, a Debt Kan dump body from Vic Bailey Service Fund budget of Ford of Spartanburg, per a $165,000, a Storm Water Fund state-purchasing contract. This budget of $168,756, a vehicle will allow city sanita - Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp helps Cole Custer unveil his throwback paint scheme honoring Sam Ard. See Page 7A for story. Recreations Concessions Fund tion workers to pick up and PHOTO BY SAMANTHA LYLES budget of $62,000, and a Splash empty refuse cans on narrow Pad Fund budget of $112,500. streets the full-sized garbage Council will hold a special truck cannot access. meeting on June 29 for final Lamar gets $500,000 for water tank project reading and adoption of this BUDGET ON 3A feasible. and building a new treatment plant would By Samantha Lyles Staff Writer The RIA grant and tower rehab is part of allow the town to resume selling water to its [email protected] a comprehensive loan/grant package residential and commercial customers, and Thanks to a $500,000 grant from SC Lamar is pursuing to finance over $2.6 mil - could save Lamar a considerable amount of Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA), the lion in repairs and updates for its municipal money each month. Town of Lamar is moving closer to re-estab - water system. The project would address Lamar's proprietary water system was lishing its municipal water system. several key system needs, including build - able to produce 1,000 gallons of water for At their June 12 regular meeting, Lamar ing a new water treatment plant at a cost of around 75 cents; purchasing that same Town Council discussed the grant, which $1.2 million, sinking a new 250 GPM (gal - quantity of water from DCWSA costs will fund repairs and painting of the town's lons per minute) well for $362,700, and about $2.73. two water towers. Council member Mike replacing dated and unreliable water Meanwhile, the town continues to Lloyd said that according to Hanna meters with new RF (radio frequency) steadily lose significant amounts of water Engineering, its possible the project could models. due to leaks, broken lines, and old, inac - be completed within a year. The Town of Lamar has been purchasing curate water meters. Lloyd said that in the Grant administrator Jannie Lathan of all of its municipal water from the month of May, Lamar purchased 3.5 mil - Lathan Consulting, LLC said the project was Darlington County Water and Sewer lion gallons of water from DCWSA and originally estimated at 18 months, but after Authority (DCWSA) since February of 2016, billed customers for almost 2.5 million when South Carolina DHEC shut down the gallons – a loss rate of around 30 percent. John Bowman and Gary Brown answer questions. conferring with Hanna Engineering they PHOTO BY MELISSA ROLLINS found that a 12-month timeline could be second of Lamar's two water wells due to trace radium detection. Sinking a new well LAMAR ON 3A School board gets input Gandy receives key from community on bond referendum schools to Society Hill percent passage rate,” Childers Taste of Society Hill on May By Melissa Rollins By Melissa Rollins Editor said. “We are very excited Editor 13: the Taste of Society Hill [email protected] about that. We had an existing [email protected] Committee, town council, Last week, the Darlington Penny Sales Tax. In passing the Tommy Bradshaw, Mayor vendors and donors, EMTs County School District held six bond referendum, the school of Society Hill made a special and Law Enforcement, and all community meetings in the district ended up paying off the presentation during the town of the people who were kind three communities where they very last bit of that Penny Sales council meeting, Tuesday, enough to buy tickets. As will be building new schools. Tax and essentially extending June 14. mayor, I want to congratulate The meetings served as an the Penny Sales Tax so that vot - After a successful Taste of any and all who were opportunity for community ers didn’t actually see any Society Hill on May 13, involved. One person members to share their desires increase in terms of the tax Bradshaw and the town council deserves special recognition for the schools. It was also as a rates; that penny just contin - members thought it appropri - for the vital role they played chance for the district to give ued on.” ate to recognize the work of in making the Taste of Society the community the timeline for Childers said that the new Brian Gandy, Executive Hill a rousing success, Brian school construction and Penny Sales Tax allowed for Director of the Darlington Gandy, the Director of the explain the building process. up to sixty million dollars for County Historical Commission. Darlington Historical Representatives of Jumper the project. Bradshaw presented Gandy a Commission. From early Carter Sease Architects, as well “If we can get it in under, March right through the key to the town. Brian Gandy with Society Hill Mayor Tommy Bradshaw. as Goforth Brown & Associates that’d be great,” Childers said. event itself, Brian labored were present to discuss the “Ten years ago, twelve years Gandy and his assistant PHOTO BY MELISSA ROLLINS director Max Everhart were over every single detail on the architectural aspects of the ago, we had a $48 million dol - responsible for the 2,300 museum quality historical tory of Darlington County. promote the rich history of schools they have been con - lar bond referendum but square foot artifact and docu - exhibits displayed inside the Through Brian’s efforts a Darlington County, we are tracted to design.

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