County delays Sheriff’s Office vehicle purchases
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
At their October 3 regular meeting, Darlington County Council voted unanimously to delay the purchase of new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.
When council considered the latest round of purchase requests from county departments for new vehicles (covered under the recently approved $3.5 million lease/purchase agreement), council member Bobby Kilgo offered an amendment which approved the requested vehicle and equipment buys for EMS, Roads and Bridges, the Prison Farm, Environmental Services, and the repair shop, but held off approval for requests from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the jail, which is within the budgetary purview of current Sheriff Wayne Byrd.
Kilgo expressed his belief that incoming sheriff-elect Tony Chavis (who defeated Byrd in the June 14 Democratic primary and stands unopposed for the November general election) should decide which vehicles are priority purchases for the DCSO and the Detention Center.
“There can be differences in what heads of departments – i.e., the sheriff – want. That’s why I ask that this be held off until the new sheriff gets here,” said Kilgo. “To go and spend over $800,000 and not include the new people that are coming in with their ideas, I think, is not wise.”
Kilgo offered the amendment and received a second from Mozella “Pennie” Nicholson. After clarifying that only the DCSO and Detention Center purchases were being excised, council voted unanimously in support of the measure as amended.
The delayed requests totaled $857,600, with the Sheriff’s Office asking for $750,400 and the Detention Center requesting $107,200. Vehicles in the combined request included 13 Ford Explorers, an F150 Crew Cab, a Chevrolet Equinox, and a Ford Transit Van. The DCSO had also requested an additional $14,000 for lease purchases.
Approved purchases include two John Deere motor graders for Roads and Bridges costing $284,580 and $228,420, and four ambulance packages (including monitors, stretchers, and computers) totaling $775,249 for EMS.
Council did approve receipt of a $19,787 Justice Assistance Grant, which the Sheriff’s Office will use to purchase 25 new body cameras. No local matching funds are required.
Third and final reading for Ordinance 16-17 received council’s approval. This measure will appropriate the thirty percent fee due to Tax Management Associates (TMA) for their work collecting delinquent taxes. The TMA audit figures show the firm collected a total of $142,987 in delinquent taxes from June through September of 2016, meaning a thirty-percent fee of $42,896 is due.
Council agreed to lease space in the Society Hill Neighborhood Center at 223 Hall Street to Crystal Jackson for use as a tutoring and academic enrichment center. Jackson’s business, I Am Visible, LLC, will lease the space from October 1, 2016 through April 30, 2017 for $300 per month. This location was previously used by the Darlington County Community Action Agency, which terminated their lease on the property in June of 2016.
Dogs at the Darlington County Animal Shelter will soon have a new space to run around and get some exercise, as council approved a request from the Darlington County Humane Society to use privately donated funds to erect a fenced enclosure, providing shelter dogs with a safe area to romp outdoors. The enclosure will measure about 154 feet by 65 feet and will be located in front of the animal shelter.
Ellen Hamilton of the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault reminded council that October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and asked them to support two initiatives: the “Remember My Name” domestic violence march will take place October 22 at 10 a.m. on the Darlington Public Square, and the ongoing “Sunday’s Undies” program which asks churches to donate new underwear for the women and children who come to the Coalition for emergency refuge.
Hamilton said that while South Carolina has dropped from first to fifth in national rates of women murdered by men, the problem still requires much work and attention. She also noted that Pee Dee Coalition will be adding two new service positions in the near future, including a victim advocate for the City of Darlington and a counselor who will split time between Darlington County and Chesterfield County.
Norm Steadman, director of the Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce, thanked council for the county’s support of Freedom Fest 2016. The Independence Day fireworks and music festival at the Darlington Raceway drew over 25,000 guests this year, and Steadman gave each council member a plaque recognizing their help in making the event a success.