Committees, Confusion Lead to Long Board Meeting

IN SPORTS: Swampcats earn SCISA 3A baseball title shot B1 PANORAMA Are you smarter than a 5th grader? St. Anne & St. Jude team SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 wins state Quiz Bowl C1 WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017 $1.00 SUMTER SCHOOL DISTRICT Trump to Committees, confusion Comey: lead to long board meeting You’re fired WASHINGTON (AP) — Pres- ident Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey Chairman, vice Tuesday, dramatically ousting the nation’s top law enforce- ment official in the midst of an chairwoman try FBI investigation into whether Trump’s cam- to resolve issues paign had ties to Russia’s med- BY BRUCE MILLS dling in the elec- [email protected] tion that sent him to the White Sumter School District Board of House. Trustees faced two contentious issues COMEY In a letter to Monday at its regular monthly meet- Comey, Trump ing, but board members seemed to re- said the firing solve both before another extended was necessary to restore “pub- meeting night was over at 11:20 p.m. lic trust and confidence” in the First, the larger issue involved finan- FBI. Comey has come under cial consultant Scott Allan and the intense scrutiny in recent chief financial officer search process months for his public com- that he was told previously by the ments on an investigation into board to take up and lead. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s When Allan discussed the search email practices, including a process with the trustees Monday pair of letters he sent to Con- night, he informed the board he had RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM gress on the matter in the clos- formed a selection committee of dis- Sumter School District Board Chairman the Rev. Daryl McGhaney asks financial consul- ing days of last year’s cam- trict staff and himself for the interview tant Scott Allan on Monday night why he formed a selection committee in the search for paign. process. a chief financial officer without the board’s input. He said he thought Allan should have Trump made no mention of Board Chairman the Rev. Daryl Mc- notified the board before establishing the committee. Vice Chairman Karen Michalik, to Comey’s role in the Clinton in- Ghaney immediately took exception, his left, argued that she thought Allan was keeping the board informed and that the vestigation, which she has expressing his concern that a selection board will eventually interview the final three candidates. blamed in part for the election committee had been formed “without result. But in announcing the the board’s input.” the selection committee has chosen the would interview each of the three final firing, the White House circu- Allan then explained he had formed three finalists for the CFO position, he candidates. lated a scathing memo, written the selection committee for the first said he planned to update the board phase of the interview process. Once and then he assumed the trustees SEE BOARD, PAGE A4 SEE COMEY, PAGE A5 Frank Holloway will have his 18th century Fire department firearms dis- play at the Car- olina Backcoun- try Springtime reopens flooded event Saturday and will dem- onstrate how they were load- training facility ed and fired. SUMTER ITEM BY ADRIENNE SARVIS FILE PHOTO [email protected] Sumter Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of its newly renovated training facility that was damaged during the 1,000-year-flood in October 2015. During the historic flood, the area received more than 20 inches of rain in three days. Elected officials from Sumter city and county governments were present during the ceremony and participated in cutting the ribbon. Sumter Fire Chief Karl Ford told the audience that he remembered seeing a portion of the building under water, about 4 feet of water, during the flood. Everybody here has had a part in restoring the facility, he said during the ceremony. The interior and frame of the 6,000-square- Enjoy Sumter in the spring — of 1800 foot building was replaced with materials that will reduce the chance of major water damage in case of another flood, according to previous BY IVY MOORE It’s easy to speculate, but on unteers will be fully costumed, statements by Sumter Construction Manager [email protected] Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., performing the daily tasks neces- Michael Geddings. visitors to Sumter County Muse- sary to sustain life. Col. Daniel Lasica, commander of the 20th What would early settlers in um can “step back” to that time Watts always cooks seasonal Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, said he the area around Sumter be doing to witness firsthand how our pre- foods during Backcountry events, knows first hand the work that firefighters do this time of year in 1800? No TV, decessors lived, worked and even and she’s already got her menu to keep citizens safe. Those staying at the base no cellphones, no video games, no played, Carolina Backcountry for Saturday, she said. also know that Sumter’s firefighters will do Facebook, no electricity, no in- Manager Deborah Watts said. She door bathrooms? and other museum staff and vol- SEE SPRING, PAGE A7 SEE FIRE, PAGE A5 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B5 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Hattie Session SUNNY AND HOT 3 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Elizabeth Thompson Mostly sunny and quite VOL. 144, NO. 148 Classifieds: 774-1200 J.C. Amos Sr. warm today with no chance Classifieds B6 Opinion A9 Delivery: 774-1258 Evelyn E. Driggers of rain; tonight, partly Comics C2 Television C3 News and Sports: 774-1226 Mary Ellen Fries cloudy and mild. Food C4 Sarah L. Dwyer HIGH 91, LOW 66 A2 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] City Council wrangles with budget issues BY JIM HILLEY down to right at $2 million.” cut City expenditures. City is paying less in debt service, and [email protected] McCormick said the employer por- In addition to the pension fund in- McCormick said that is because the tion of the pension fund will increase crease, McCormick said the City is City has made some wise decisions in The City of Sumter will pay about 2 percent this year and will go up 1 also faced with higher costs for soft- the past several years, such as not tak- $440,000 more in pension costs in the percent each year until the pension ware maintenance as more city servic- ing a lot of money out of utility reve- 2018 fiscal year than it will in 2017, fund is balanced. es have become computerized, plus in- nues to boost the general fund. City Manager Deron McCormick told “Our employees are under that sys- creases in cost for training and equip- “The City owns its utilities,” McCor- the Sumter City Council at a budget tem,” said Mayor Joe McElveen. ping police officers. mick said. “You don’t kill off the goose workshop Tuesday afternoon. The ad- “Now, more demand is being put on Not all the budget news was bad, that laid the golden egg by not keeping ditional pension costs are the result of local government. however. up your utilities. the General Assembly passing legisla- “There has been some mismanage- Finance Director Beth Reames said “These things are not cheap and it is tion to address a shortfall in the ment in Columbia, in my opinion,” there has been growth in assessed val- good to stay ahead of the curve,” he said. state’s pension system. McElveen said. ues to the point where a mill is now McCormick said the staff will con- That additional expense in one of the The pension legislation has already worth $133.9 million. A mill is equiva- tinue to work on the budget with the reasons the City is still facing a $2 mil- been passed, McCormick said, but lent to $1 on property assessed at aim of having a budget finalized by lion budget shortfall as the Council met some funding is still possible since the $1,000, so the figure quoted by Reames the City Council’s meeting on June 6. for the third time to go over the budget. General Assembly is still in session. means a one-mill tax increase would At that meeting, Council will have a Meeting in the newly renovated Fire “The state has chosen to fund the net the City $133.9 million in addition- public hearing and first reading of the Training Station on Green Swamp portion for teachers,” he said. “There al revenue. budget. McCormick said if all goes as Road, the Council mostly listened as may still be some help coming.” McCormick said a mill was worth planned, the second and final reading McCormick outlined how the City has In response to a question from just under $100,000 in Sumter in 2006. of the budget would be at the June 20 trimmed an anticipated shortfall in Councilman Calvin Hastie, McCor- He pointed out the City has not raised City Council meeting. fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1. mick said the staff has already property taxes since fiscal year 2008. He said, if necessary, the Council “What we have tried to do is cut that trimmed some line-item expenditures, “There is a lot of stability in the tax can call a special meeting to finish the deficit every time we met,” McCor- travel, some capital items and keeping rate,” he said. process before the fiscal year begins mick said.

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