October is a pleasant time of year; cool mornings, fall color changes, and all of the other nice thoughts brought to mind by this time of year. However, Sumter County, for the past three Octobers has been a very tough month. In 2014, Sumter had an Ice Storm that hit the central part of our State from around Aiken through Sumter to around Marion, South Carolina; in 2015, Sumter experienced the “1000 Year Flood”; and in 2016, Hurricane Matthew came with a fury.
Thoughts and Prayers….While Sumter County escaped the wrath of Hurricane Irma, our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been forever changed.
August 21, 2017, was a special day in Sumter County as all citizens and thousands of visitors enjoyed the spectacular totality of the 2017 Solar Eclipse. The weather was perfect, even the clouds gave up their place for a clear sky hours before the Solar Eclipse at 2:43 p.m. eastern standard time.
Sumter County Government has hired a new Animal Rescue Coordinator, Amy Frey. Thank you to Sheriff Dennis along with the City of Sumter and Chief Roark for working with us to coordinate a new rescue program for Sumter County.
After three long months of meetings, some with staff, others with County Council and staff which includes extra budget workshops, we now have an approved balanced budget for Sumter County operations. County Council at its regular meeting scheduled on June 13, 2017, approved third and final reading for Sumter County Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget Ordinance #17-866 with revenues and expenditures in the General Fund of $51,394,154.
County Council must balance and approve the Fiscal Year 2017-18 operating budget by June 30, 2017.
Several meetings and considerable work has been accomplished by Council and staff to date on the proposed budget. County Council has approved two readings on the budget ordinance, with a third and final reading approval scheduled for June 13, 2017. The two budget readings include expenditure requests of $51,595,359, revenue of $51,492,664, and a shortfall of $102,695. With this current shortfall, Council and staff will continue working to balance the budget.
Well I did it again, I talked about the nice weather with 800 temperatures in February and now it is mid- March with 400 and 500 temperatures. The Azalea blooms may not survive the next few weeks. We even had ‘snow’ one morning! We did not receive much accumulation but it sure was nice to see the big flakes falling.
Can you believe this weather in Sumter? A nice chill in the morning with a temperature in the 70’s or higher in the afternoon makes it hard to believe it is February. I hope March is as nice.
After the 2016 November elections, our new Council member, Council C. F. “Chris” Sumpter, II won the District 1 County Council seat. We welcome Councilman Sumpter to our County Team and wish him great success in his first four-year term. County Council District 1 falls primarily in the northern region of our County around the Rembert/Rafting Creek area, but as far south as the Cherryvale community. He has hit the ground running meeting with numerous constituents in his district to determine how he may best serve our County.
