County Council - Regular Meeting

She says let's roll. Let's get it on.

She's got a gun. You might want to listen to her.

Lexington County Council Budget Workshop session in 2026 is now open. This meeting is also broadcast live on Lexington's channel 1302. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. All of council should have a document like this in front of you. We're here today because

As you know, we presented a recommended budget to you last week, which was balanced and so forth, but there were some items that the department heads felt that they would like to talk to council for consideration to see if we could find funding for them. All the items are on this sheet for today. You'll have some departments from County Ordinary, from the library, and from solid waste management. So we've worked with them. All the items are listed. We will not be going in the exact order that's what's on your page, but we will ask what's on the agenda and we'll let you know where that's at. But you'll see as an example, the first one for animal services, the request is for three shelter attendants. That'll be the grade to show all the costs and the total costs there. As council hears in can tell us to put it on a consideration list. We're not going to fund it, or we are, or whatever. So it's strictly up to you guys today. But these items are outside of the recommended budget. That's it, Mr. Chair.

Okay. First up is Animal Services. Welcome, Brittany.

Thank you. Thank you all for being here today to hear me and my fellow department heads out about some new programs that we would like to prioritize in the coming budget year. Mine's pretty cut and dry this year. I am only simply asking for three shelter attendants. The main priority of the shelter attendance for Lexington County Animal Services is to care for the animals that could be feeding, bathing, cleaning, medication, enrichment, even adopting them out, even bringing them into the facility. With that, we currently have seven shelter staff members that work at the shelter. And there's 219 animals at the facility that they care for. That is physically at the facility every day. With that, the reason why is you can see there's an increase in the human population, which obviously that leads to an animal population increase. And then with the goals that we have to reduce euthanasia, the length of stay of these animals are also increasing as well. So these animals go from being there five days, maybe seven, to being there to the extent that they need that daily exercise that's being walked three times a day. With the appropriate amount of staff, we can do that. The outcome, with the outcome of having the additional staff, you can see that better animal welfare, better mental status of the shelter staff that work with us with the job that they have to do to include euthanizing, reduce disease because you have proper training protocols that are able to be followed, corners do not have to be cut, things of that nature. To include, we can engage with the community and actually put forth some of their ideas that they bring us that we currently can't do just because of lower staffing in the facility. And lastly, it just aligns with our overall goal. Since 2023, our euthanasia rate has dropped 10%. That goes to our efforts and our programs that we've been putting forward, and we would like to see that number continue to decrease solely based off staffing and what they're able to do to either make these animals more adoptable or spend more time with them or even keep them in a different confinement with that walking three times a day. Also, we're looking to see that the capacity for care meets the standard. and then that your pets in or outside of your care are taken care of. Thank you.

Do you have volunteers there too?

We do have volunteers. Our volunteers come about an hour a day. We have eight active volunteers.

I would make a motion that we approve her request for $141,344. Second. No, but I already knew what it was. We have a motion about this Western session.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Kerrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fisher?

Yes.

Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop?

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell? Yes. Chairman Hudson?

Yes.

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, just for clarification, that was, you wanted to go ahead and approve that, not for any consideration? Okay. Okay.

We have Joanne. Manager, welcome.

Thank you.

I'm going to do mine a little bit more in detail. A lot of you probably don't know what Central Stores is all about, so it's going to be a little bit longer. So I will be brief, though. So thank you for your time. My name is JoLynn Hines, and I am the Inventory Manager for the county. I am here formally requesting approval for one additional full-time employee for Central Stores. Central Stores serves as a vital support hub for all county departments. Our responsibilities include housing and distributing all household, office, and vehicle supplies. We also manage county mail operations, running two routes daily to ensure timely and accurate distribution. In addition, we operate the county print shop, which produces approximately 90% of all departmental jobs. Our team also is responsible for the management of all county assets valued over $2,500. This includes recording, tagging, tracking, auditing, and physically verifying each asset. During audits, all assets must be accounted for and visually confirmed. Central Stores further manages all surplus property auctions. These auctions require extensive coordination, including researching, photography, listing, managing bidder inquiries, assisting potential buyers, and completing all necessary documentation for the sale of these county assets. At times, we are managing three auctions simultaneously during a week's process. In addition, Central Stores handles all receiving, shipping, deliveries, pickups for every county department. Our operation depends on a high level of accuracy, accountability, and efficiency to meet the needs of the county. Currently, we have six full-time employees, one inventory manager, one assistant inventory manager, one inventory specialist, one warehouse associate, one printer, and one mail clerk. This staffing level has remained unchanged for over 20 years. Despite significant growth in the county, increased service demands, and the expansion of facilities, to maintain and enhance our level of service, we are requesting the addition of one inventory clerk. This position would provide critical support in the following areas. This position would spend 60% of the time in the warehouse handling incoming shipments and maintaining accurate and ongoing inventory. Support distribution operations, including expanding delivery routes to our outlying agencies and newly established facilities. Provide coverage during employee absences. ensuring consistency of daily operations. Assist with asset tracking, surplus processing, and overall logistical support for all the departments within the county. Adding this position will improve operational efficiency, reduce workload strain on existing staff, and ensure central stores can continue to meet the growing demands of the county. The proposed position is classified as a pay grade 106 with an estimated annual recurring cost of $55,000 including county benefits. Central Stores has consistently demonstrated a commitment to a high quality service, accuracy, and accountability. This additional role is a necessary investment to sustain that standard and support continued growth within the county. some of the stats over the years. In 2004, Central Stores held one auction a year. During that auction, and I'm just doing the vehicles and the heavy equipment, there was 31, approximately 31 vehicles or heavy equipment sold for an entire year. That does not include all the miscellaneous assets that we sell also. which is a lot. Fast forward to 2005, Central Stores holds multiple auctions throughout the year. The average vehicle and heavy equipment that are sold is approximately probably around 150 heavy equipment in the vehicle. That's just vehicles and heavy equipment. That does not include all other miscellaneous items that we sell throughout the year. This is a couple more stats going back 10 years. 2015, our central store service tickets average around $4,500 a year. 2025, we're around 6,000 service tickets. This is where we do for departments, whatever that may be. That's what we, you know, distributing supplies, you know, picking up, whatever. Pieces of freight in 2015 that we have received, 7,800. 2025, approximately 11,000. 2015, new fixed assets, which is anything over 2,500. At that time, it was only $500 threshold. That was 337. 2025, we moved up the threshold a couple years ago to 2,500. We're at 1,500 now. in 2025 of tagging assets. 2015 deliveries, approximately 6,000. 2025 deliveries, 20,000. There's approximately 150 buildings in the county that we deliver to and have to tag and audit assets. 2015, our print jobs in our print shop, 166 with the impressions of 600,000. 2025, 250 print jobs with an approximate 900,000 impressions. Our mail averages about 270,000 pieces of mail a year. Granted, what kind of election year it is. If it's a big election, then it can go up to 300,000 or 400,000. These numbers do not include picking up decommissioned items, relocating furniture and offices, and putting together furniture. In closing, over the past 10 years, we have seen consistent growth in workload, responsibility, and service demands. The data clearly reflects an upward trend that is not temporary but sustained. While our team has remained committed to maintaining quality, efficiency, and accountability, we are reaching the limits of what can be reasonably managed without additional support. Adding one position is not simply easing a workload. It is about protecting service standards, ensuring accuracy, and continuing to meet the expectations of the departments and the citizens we serve. This investment will strengthen operations, reduce risk, and position us to handle continued growth effectively. Thank you for your consideration and your time and your continued support with our department.

Any questions?

Questions? Guys? Excuse me.

Mr. Starkey, you got any input on this?

It's a new position that's a reoccurring expense. That's why we're bringing it to you. I mean, obviously the county is growing, and as with all, you're going to hear with all these departments.

Last time she... Over 20 years ago.

She hadn't had any resources added in quite a while. Pretty impressive.

Second.

Anybody make a motion? I think Charlie did, and then Beth seconded. Have a motion on the floor. Any more discussion?

Amendable. You did it for 20 years. Thank you. Amendable. You did it for 20 years without more help.

I have a motion by Ms. Westsinger and a second by Ms. Kerrig. Any more discussion?

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Kerrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fisher? Yes. Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop?

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell? Yes. Chairman Hudson?

Yes.

Thank you all so much.

Next we have fire service.

Chief, does that say $1.2 million?

Yes, ma'am, it does. Not a typo. Lynn's speeding up over there.

His forehead hurts. And I'm glad you brought that up first, Mr. Carrigan.

It was so glaring, and I was like, what?

To the positive side, it's not a reoccurring gas. This is a one-time capital. But thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to speak briefly about an engine replacement for fiscal year 26-27. In addition to the budget that Administrator Sturkey and CFO DeBose put together with, to be honest, we prioritized all of our ask, and we were able to come up with a great budget, and we're very appreciative of everything. However, as we'll go through and see, some of the things outside of our control is causing me to come before council to ask for an additional $1.2 million for an engine. On the screen behind me, you'll see what currently is going to be engine 34 at the North Lake Station that's currently under construction. This truck is being outfitted today. This is what we consider a NFPA Class A pumper that meets their 1901 standard, or now 1900 standard. This truck is valued about $1.25 million with the equipment that is added onto it to include all hoses, nozzles, extrication equipment, any medical or life-saving equipment that would go forth as part of our service delivery to the citizens of Lexington County. The reason why I wanted to bring the standard up is just briefly in a nutshell. NFPA requires or recommends that fire apparatus have a first front line status of 15 years and 25 years of total operability. Generally, that's because of the way standards change as they become safer with the roller protection, the crash protection, the new technology in the engines with the 27 emission standards coming out to make them more efficient and clean burning to get better fuel mileage. and also all the other safety components to go with that. Part of what NFPA talks about and what we talk about at fire service and fleet is actually the usability of the fire truck. A fire truck without use could last indefinitely. But the way we respond in Lexington County, the roads that we have to respond on in the south area that are a lot of dirt roads, we put a lot of mileage, wear, and tear on the truck. For example, Station 12 in Gaston has a two-year-old truck that's averaging 20,000 miles per year currently. 20,000 miles per year. That's a lot of wear on a fire apparatus, especially when they're designed, the engines are designed for long hauls, 18 wheelers, for example. They crank them up, they warm them up, they drive for hundreds of miles before they shut them off. These trucks are jumped in, they're started up, they're driven hard, they're taken back, they're put up wet, if you will, and they're waiting on the next call. So there's a lot of other reasons behind why we need to replace trucks a little bit quicker on the front line to get that you that Longevity out of on the back end our fleet consists over 66 front line emergency apparatus that doesn't include any of our staff vehicles and part of what we have is Our 22 frontline engine companies, seven reserve, five frontline ladder companies, two reserve, four special operations units, which include our hazmat, our heavy rescue, and our mobile command post, 20 tenders, and six brush trucks. We do not have any reserve in the tender fleet, and we have no reserves in the brush truck fleet, but we do have reserves in our engines and our ladders because that is an ISO requirement for us to maintain our insurance rating. All of that to be said is we have to replace multiple apparatus every year. And the way our apparatus fleet works is our frontline average right now in an engine is eight years, which is very good. The problem is our reserve fleets are aging, and they're sitting at about 24 years. Our average miles, we talk about the road miles we're putting on these trucks at engine 12 with 20,000 miles. Engine 30 is a close second at 19,000 miles. We are wearing these trucks out at a rapid pace just because of our call volume and what we do. Our aerial trucks really are designed to run special operation calls, structure fires, confined space, extrications. But because they sit in a house by themselves as a single company, they run all medical calls as well. So that $2.5 million ladder truck is riding to a BLS call. at a more expensive cost to the citizens than an engine company would. And of course, those are things in the future that we need to address and talk about. But our average miles on our ladder trucks right now is at 65,000 miles. So in calendar year 2025, to put it in perspective, and you know through the quarterly reporting, we ran 21,675 emergency incidents last year. That equated to 36,000 truck movements. So because some calls call for more than one apparatus, 36,000 times a fire truck was responding inside of Lexington County for an emergency call. Broken down just an average, Each engine in our county has responded 815 times as an average. Now, our lowest engine is around the 237 mark. Our highest engine is up around the 2,000 mark. But that's just an average to say every front-line engine in Lexington County is averaging about 800 calls a year. And look at the ladders, 1,126 calls. What we utilize through the NFPA data, that 15 and 25-year mark, plus what we look at through our fleet services with Director Glover, is how do we extend the life of our fire engines? And what we have determined to do in Lexington County is when we get a new fire truck in, That truck goes to one of the busier stations. It goes to your station 30, your station 12, your station 5 that are running much more calls. The trucks there are pushed out to the outlying areas that has a lower call volume, such as station 29, station 14, station 18, and station 7. to extend those life to 15-year frontline. Now, some of our frontline units right now are sitting at the 17, 18-year mark as we wait on Engine 34 to come online as a new company to help push a truck out. And we have a couple of trucks that are in the pipeline that should arrive by the end of 2026. With that, once they get to the 15-year mark, we try to put them in reserve and hold them to about 25 years. Now, currently, we do have a reserve sitting at a 37-year mark, but you can't kill an FMC. And this year is the year it goes out of service. And we're sad to see it go, but that would help trend our numbers down on our reserve. So what I'm asking for from council is to consider a $1.2 million ask, one-time funding this year, to purchase an NFPA-compliant engine that will replace a 22-year-old engine with 248,000 miles. That would allow me to rotate a 10-year-old truck in three years to a less busy station and get a new apparatus into the fleet and a retired 25-year-old truck. The reason I'm saying 25 years instead of 22, because today that truck's 22. For us to order the truck July 1, it would be a three-year bill time to receive that apparatus. And that's from all major manufacturers in the industry today. Any questions?

Several. How many trucks do you have coming now?

We are in the process of four that was approved through this council through the ARPA money two and a half, three years ago. Hold me honest, Mr. Sturkey. Those are the last four engines on the order. They'll be coming in to replace... Have to be in by the end of this year. They have to be in by the 31st of December, and they'll go in service in 27. We did not ask for any rolling stock in the current fiscal year's budget because we knew that we had come to council for ARPA money to get those units, so we skipped a year. Fleet and I have been in constant talks that we probably should have came back last year and got an engine then to keep that process going with 66 front-line apparatus that we have to rotate in and out. We do have a ladder truck in the budget this year that the administrator and the CFO was able to get us. And that's a little bit further ahead. We originally did not want a ladder truck, but we prioritized the ladder truck over the two engines because we know that 35 is coming online. The truck going out there will turn 10 years old this year. And so we have two trucks in reserve for ladder trucks that are sitting at 23 years old. We've got to get those out of the fleet because they're costing us more and in maintenance than it's truly worth. So the ladder truck was prioritized because that build time is 38 to 42 months. And so with the build times extending, we're asking for this engine to get us back into the rotation to keep us whole.

What I'm saying, I know that we have funded you, I thought it was five, but you say four trucks. The ladder truck is 2.5 million. Yes, sir.

Yes, sir. Equipped.

Yeah, that is included. As Chief said, he and I met multiple times. I asked him to prioritize the capital list that he had, and we did so. And then, you know, he did speak to me about coming before council to ask for this consideration. So that's why we're here today.

The build times is really what is driving this. Pre-COVID, you could, really, my first fire truck I ever bought as fire chief in 2006, July, it was approved. By August, we signed the contract. By April, we had the fire truck. Those days are gone. All the major manufacturers are trying to trend that timeframe down, but none of them can tell me for certain that it is going to trend back to a 24-month or less build time. Pre-COVID, we had gotten to 12 to 18 months for a fire engine, but ever since COVID, with that big rush of ARPA money, And all the other hang-ups that happened, the bill times really just stacked up, and you're sitting at 36 months now.

But when you sign a contract, do you have to have the 1.25?

We just signed a contract under the county. We issue a PO. We don't pay for the apparatus until they're delivered. Now, there are options to prepay, and that's something we've never sat down and truly had a hard discussion about. But we don't currently pay for any asset until we receive it in hand. So when we sign that contract, we've locked that price in, and we're in the queue to build that fire truck.

Budget item and divide by three says the build time is three years.

We do have to pay as it goes across, and typically we do not issue a PO without having it fully funded. Because I can't speak for other councils that may.

A third, a third, a third. It takes 36 months to get it anyway.

$450,000 payments every year.

Again, I would recommend it be fully funded to issue the PO. I understand the logic and what you're thinking, but also future years, we have to take that into consideration also.

There's no financing companies for these?

There are, but that's, again, I would defer all of that to the CFO.

We would have to work through that. We would have to work through that.

I just have a question more for just education, not questioning. If it's, say, just a car wreck, there is no fire. Yes, sir. Is there not an option just to get some other type of vehicle to respond to without driving a $1.2 million truck?

I've had those discussions internally, and the previous deputy county administrator, Mr. Luckadoo, and I sat down and talked about what I would call a squad or a QRV concept where I would like to basically my ladder companies to take the wear and tear off of them, and they'd be able to go into other districts and look at a – a Tahoe or some type of QRV like EMS does to help with that, but we've not put that new program in place yet.

About ten of them stopped for the price of that truck.

We don't jump trucks. When we staff, we staff on the companies that we're on. So we don't do like some organizations that run fire rescue. Some departments, the units are on an engine or a ladder. They get a medical call, they jump on an ambulance. And we stay with the primary unit that we're on. So that would actually be our new program, and funding would come for the two persons per unit as well. So the reoccurring cost of at least two firefighter EMTs would come with the cost of the apparatus. It would be faster, too.

I mean, I'm sure a Tahoe will get there quicker than a— Then an engine will. Absolutely. And a whole lot less gas on a tenth of the price. Absolutely.

So as a part-time police officer, y'all are usually the first ones on the scene. 100%. You're being faster. And they also guard the scene, keep it safe for the officers there. Tahoe, yes, but a fire truck, you can really make it safe.

Your MVCs will continue to run with the bigger apparatus because of that very reason. Us losing Paul, we do. We're going to shut the roads down.

You'd also be bringing two trucks, though, potentially, instead of one. Right. You can block two intersections instead of one with two trucks. I was just, I didn't know if it was like a requirement that you had to take an engine truck.

All the requirement, when we talk about the apparatus, we go back to our ISM, making sure that we have the staffing. And that, of course, Chief Van Troost and I would work on, you know, that actually would help our staffing levels to have two more people on our QRV because we could be included in our daily staffing of staff. Currently, we run 96 employees per shift, and that would just be two per unit per shift. But again, that whole new program would come at a reoccurring cost of salary and benefits for personnel. The people on the fire truck would be separate than the QRV? Yes, sir, because the QRV would be the Tahoe and all the equipment that goes into it.

And why would that be? Yeah, I agree with him. Why would you staff more people? I don't understand. I don't follow that logic at all.

The equipment needs to be on both ends. Correct. So the way we work with our crew integrity and our companies, our companies stay together. So the people assigned to that engine, those three-person engine companies stay on that unit. So if you ask for a QRV, then the staffing for it would need to go responsive to call to keep that unit available. That would help with your unit hour utilization as well. That fire truck would stay available.

They'd leave in the Tahoe when the fire breaks out. Right. They're not in the fire.

And you'd have to have so many on scene, correct?

Correct. That makes sense. Still at a million bucks. That's a lot of salary.

Chief, did they increase the size of these vehicles a couple of years ago?

Engines? Well, we spec them based off of the needs, but yes, ma'am. These have gotten a little bit bigger. As you can see, the cab configuration is the biggest thing between that white truck up there, which is what we're replacing the commercial cab versus the custom. It's actually safer for our firefighters with the roll protection. It keeps all of our gear and secured locked cabinets inside of it. So, yes, ma'am, that cab is much bigger, which would increase the footprint of the fire truck.

Okay. Mr. Chairman, if I may ask a question.

Yes, sir. May I ask a question? You can go after me.

Anyway, I'm a strong advocate, as you know, of fire service and EMS. We have to have those funded properly. We have to have the proper people. We have to have the proper equipment. We have to continue to update the equipment, and it is very costly. If we wait on this, it's going to be 1.5. It's going to be 1.75. It's going to be 2. You see where I'm going with this. I don't see any reason to put this off. But due to the large amount you're asking for, Mr. Chairman, is there any way we can go through the rest of the items, I guess consideration, and then look at it in the back end because of the cost of it? I'm not saying I'm opposed to it at all.

I'm in favor of it. We'll put it on the consideration list to be rediscussed. How about that?

What we'll do is, as the Chairman says, put it on the consideration list. I will bring back options next week on how we could address it. if we can address it.

Do I need to make a motion to that effect? That would be wonderful. All right. I'll make a motion that we re-look at this at the end of our, or whenever we look at it again through the budget process in the consideration list.

I'll second it. We have a motion by Mr. Brigham, put it on a reconsideration list, and I believe the second by Mr. Fisher, I think it was.

Any more questions? I'd just say that turning this down would be heartbreaking, but it's just such a big, big ask. That's just hard to do.

It's hard to explain before we vote. It's hard to explain to the public, and I had this happen to me twice Sunday, why a fire truck has to come to a minor collision. It's hard to explain that.

But I had never thought about If you get your house catching on fire and they're in the Tahoe, they've got to go back and get the fire truck. I get it. You need to be able to fund another crew, which is more financially beneficial. You said that would be a three-man crew?

No, it would be a two-person crew.

A Tahoe and two people as opposed to the engine runs to every call.

And that would be reoccurring because of the personnel where this is not happening. And you would, and if that, as that grows and you think about it, that wouldn't be at every fire station with the 27 stations. We would disperse those QRVs out in a more economical manner where you may have one in the Chapin region, one in the Lexington proper, one down Congaree, one down towards Swansea and take it that way. But again, that's a lot of work that we have to do on our end before we're ready to present that to council.

I'd like to know... Personally, if you have easy access to know or even moving forward for like a month, how many calls could have been handled without the engine? Percentage-wise, the number of real fires has got to be really minimal.

Last year, had you said that, I would agree. But we have been hopping with structure fires, unfortunately, the last two months. But, yes, sir, overall, I would say the majority, obviously, of what we run is medical-related. Yeah.

Okay, we have it on. Which is the best financially responsible way to run it. That's all I'm, I'm open to whatever. Okay, I'm done. Anybody else?

Leopard? Sir? Anything else?

I just said, try to give us some numbers and also calls. Sounds like that program anyway. Had a 2% increase every quarter on equipment.

Well, and if you realize that an engine could last 10 more years longer, that money starts really getting saved for a smaller crew. Of course, then all your guys on the engine are going to get really bored.

It keeps them awake. Right. We have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, call for the vote.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Carey? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fisher?

Yes.

Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop?

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell?

Yes.

Chairman Hudson?

And this is to put on the reconsideration list, and that's a yes. Thank you. We have next here, Lee McIntyre, Solid Waste.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the Council. Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today. The Solid Waste Management Department is requesting two additional positions for fiscal year 27. The first position is for a new mechanic for Solid Waste Management Department. Currently, the department has one mechanic that's primarily dedicated to maintaining the compactors at the collection and recycling centers, but this mechanic also serves all the other divisions of the solid waste management department. Currently, the mechanic is responsible for maintaining 43 stationary compactors and 22 self-contained compactors. In addition to breakdowns, all 65 compactors need regular preventative maintenance, which includes lubricating, maintaining fluid levels, replacing worn parts and hoses, removing access panels to dig out material that accumulates behind a blade as the machines operate, and As the department continues to grow, it's become harder for the entire operation to be supported by one maintenance mechanic. For instance, in the last 10 years, the compactor fleet for the solid waste management department has increased by 15 machines. And the department is continually looking for ways to add more machines to accommodate growth. In addition to allowing a more manageable workload, the additional mechanic would allow for faster response times to breakdowns, shorter down times when we have multiple machines that need attention, typically on Mondays and Fridays. It seems that everything likes to break down at 3 o'clock on Friday. Better weekend and after hours coverage currently. The one mechanic is relied on by the department to respond seven days a week if we have an issue after hours and on weekends. The additional mechanic would allow for more room for growth, and most importantly, this would allow for succession planning as the current mechanic estimates he's within five years of his retirement goal. Since the Solid Waste Management Department was instituted, we've only had one mechanic for the entire time. So the total cost for this position is $273,790. That includes $191,000 for a maintenance vehicle and all the necessary equipment, a crane, welder, air compressor, and all the tools. So the total reoccurring cost is $82,790, which Includes operational costs, salaries, fringe benefits, insurance, things like that. And I'll recap all that in the end. I'm going to the next position and I'll recap the totals in the end. If that's okay, do we want to do them separate? I'd keep going. Okay. The second position that's being requested is a maintenance assistant. This position will be used for maintenance tasks around the landfill transfer station and landfill administration building. These tasks include but not limited to litter pickup along landfill lane, picking up windblown litter from the transfer station and landfill, and also... landscape and activities around the facility. Historically, these tasks have been performed by community service workers. The number of community service hours has been declining steadily over time. At the peak in 2007, the department received over 5,500 community service hours in one year, and that was in 2007. In 2025, the community service hours were just under 550 hours. So even though we do get some community service workers, it's very sporadic and the quality of work is often substandard. Also, when a community service worker is on site, their presence takes away from duties of other employees since they need near constant supervision. In times where a community service worker needs additional supervision, the landfill supervisor or a heavy equipment operator has to make sure that in between all their other duties that they're going back to make sure this person is not injured, no heat injuries, not hiding somewhere. They like to find a place to hide and get on the cell phone and just write out their time. So it needs constant supervision. So since the community service workers perform the same tasks that the maintenance assistant would, Adding this position would also allow us to keep a better eye on the community service workers because the maintenance assistant would be there performing the same tasks. So the total cost for this position is $73,584. That's $4,300 in capital and $69,284 and operational costs, salary, fringe benefits. So for both of these positions, we have a total recurring cost of $152,074, along with that one-time capital for the maintenance mechanic of $191,000. A couple ways that we can fund this. Currently, the recommended budget has a $1 per ton increase for C&D material and a $1 per ton increase for MSW. Respectively, that brings it to $36 and $50 per ton for those two. We could do an additional $1 for MSW, an additional $2 for C&D, so that would bring us to $38.51 per ton, and that would cover the cost of these, the reoccurring cost for these two positions. To put that into perspective, I looked at a few counties around the area. Tri-County Solid Waste, they're currently charging at their transfer station. That's Saluda, Edgefield, and I can't remember what the other county is. They're charging $53 a ton for their MSW. and they're at $38 a ton for their C&D. And a little bit farther down, Berkeley County is at $57 a ton for their MSW and $50 a ton for their C&D. So we would still be well within the market range to raise those prices, and we would be able to add these two positions at almost no cost to the taxpayers. Do we have any questions? I have a question.

Yeah, I was trying to figure out what MSW stood for, but I'm going to go ahead. Municipal Solid Waste. Sorry, that's household trash.

Yes, ma'am. This has absolutely nothing to do with you at all, but as far as the convenience stations go, I had a conversation with Mr. Sturkey the other day. What would it cost for us to privatize... the running of those convenience stations and take it completely out of the hands of the county?

Completely out of the hands of the county?

Except for oversight of the company that would maintain them.

I would have to get back to you on that number. I was prepared to give you a number for the county to take it on themselves, but I do not have that number. I can get that for you.

So you're talking about when you say take it on ourselves, you're talking about taking the Babcock out of it?

Correct.

What's that number?

$2.8 million. And right now we're paying, the Babcock Center, it's between eight, I don't know the exact number, it's between eight and 900,000 a year right now.

For real?

Correct, yes. And they are in a little bit of a deficit right now. I had a meeting with them late last year. And they are running about a $300,000 a year deficit. I've asked them to get me some numbers and things. We're still waiting to hear back from them on that. Their contract runs through June of next year. So now would be a good time to look at some options.

I would love to see what it costs to have a company manage the convenience stations.

How much do those employees get paid? The Babcock Center, what they call operators, the folks actually operating the containers, are at minimum wage, the $7.75 or $7.25. And then their crew chiefs are in the $17 range. That's correct. We have a $15 total. So we 100% staff Leesville and Summit, and then we supplement at the busier sites, Ballpark, Bush River, Augusta Road, Sandhills. We have a person out in the recycling area maintaining the recycling because it's a little bit harder for Babcock Center. They only have three to four employees per site right now. They have more employees available? I couldn't speak on that. I do know that sometimes they struggle to staff the positions they have now. So I think it would be difficult to get more employees.

I'd just like to see them all be seven days a week. I think there's a lot of trash thrown out because we're closed two days a week.

And I think they're budgeting just like, Michael, they're budgeting just like we would budget. Because I'm listening. I know these people by first name basis. Yeah. They're some of our best employees. Yeah. I don't want to work for minimum wage, and I can't much blame them. And what you're getting is what you're paying for.

Yes, sir.

The maintenance mechanic that you're talking about, there's two of them here, the button at Park Road on the smasher that was broke for a week and a half. Is that our responsibility, or is that waste management's responsibility?

That would be our responsibility. Our maintenance mechanic fixes that. I don't know that.

The expectation level is if it doesn't work on Friday at 3 o'clock, make a phone call, and he shows up at 4 o'clock and fixes it?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And sometimes he routinely comes in on Saturdays and Sunday morning before the site's open. There are some things that we feel like that we can get by and fix Monday morning, but then there are also things that can't wait. So he responds currently seven days a week.

Yeah, and we can get off from discussion on this until my ears fall off. And trash is just... People who have their trash picked up is not a big deal. I'm confronting them all day long. But for people that have to take their trash.

Or choose to.

Choose to take their trash. We're really not doing a good job. Just not. Public perception is not good. Music perception is based on reality. They're not picking up the trash dumps after 5 o'clock, unless you've had them change that. Are they picking them up after 5?

So it depends on timing. There are some. That means no. Right. Yeah, they're not picking up until 6 and 7 o'clock. That's correct.

With all due respect, though, that Swansea one does a good job. I was surprised you said that because I don't have that opinion. I think they do a good job out my way.

I think so. Not all of them. Since Chapin's had some improvements, I mean, other than, like, the yard trash taken, like, furniture and vice versa, and things like that, my biggest complaint that I see at Chapin right now is Florida and Pennsylvania and New York and all of the out-of-state tags. Or because we were so close to Newberry County and even Richland County, we have people from other counties.

Are they clearly construction debris?

Yes, they're clearly, you know. While we're talking about it, because I don't want to be misconstrued, what kind of volume does Michael's place do versus Park Road?

It would be, I don't have those exact numbers in front of me, but at least half of what Ballpark Road does. That's what I thought. How about Broad River? It's neck and neck with ballpark. Ballpark, Bush River, Augusta Road, and Sandhills, they're all really, really close. So you take, Michael, you take what you've got and multiply it times two.

Yeah, I get it. I mean, the only real complaint I have in my area right now is pillions, fences look terrible. There's a lot of growth on it and stuff like that. But I've made that known a few times now. I guess we need to get back to service itself. Like I said, my complaint on it is you find tires, TVs, whatever, on Tuesdays and Thursdays because we're closed. I agree with that. I wish we could be open seven days a week.

I know at the Bush River site, a lot of people from Richland County come in there. A lot of people. A lot of construction workers, a lot of people from Richland County come into Bush River, and they've got to find a way to stop that.

I think you just misspelled maintenance assistant, too. It was supposed to read code enforcement officer.

Well, code enforcement officer.

Litter control officer.

Car rider pickup lines.

Recently we went to look at Berkeley County, Beaufort County, sorry. Beaufort County has a system. They have like RFID, not RFID tags, but QR codes. And their system requires everyone, every car to make contact with an employee to scan that. We could look at a similar system but maybe use something like RFID so it's automated. We can look into getting something like that. I guess it would kind of work a lot like a toll road does. When a car comes through, it kind of scans it and approves it to come in.

Contractors and other counties that come on a regular basis.

Ag readers will do it. Do you only bury C&D? Everything else is hauled out, right?

That's correct. We only use landfill C&D.

C&D technically is making money?

Some, yes, sir. It does.

What is your competition nearby? Do you have competition for C&D?

We do. S&T right next door to us. I don't know exactly what their rate is. I think they're around $15 to $18 per ton. Yes, sir. And we do see a lot of trucks going over there.

Are you thinking about the concrete to be a different fee?

We did lower the clean concrete fee to $20 per ton. It was $28 in the hopes to bring in a little bit more material. So it's in the upcoming budget in July is when the fee is going to change. Yes, sir. He's a little bit higher on the – so he has a clean fee for concrete and then a dirty fee. I think his clean fee is like $4 a ton. He's very low on the clean. Yes, sir.

It is a job to clean it up. So this mechanic, he's not going to be working on the heavy equipment at the landfill? No.

We do light preventative maintenance at landfill like our current one does, like changing hoses, different things like that. Yes, sir.

So that stuff's under warranty maintenance?

We use total maintenance and repair contracts with Caterpillar.

They say you weren't going to find a heavy mechanic for $66,000. Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Reoccurring cost.

Covers the recurring cost, yes.

All right, bad boy, bad boy, what you going to do? I'm going to cover the cost. I don't have a problem with it.

We need a better program, period.

Capital cost is $191,100, but this budget cycle... It'll go back to 152-ish next year. Do I understand it?

That's correct.

I'm concerned about the rate increase with the competitor next door.

Well, can we just see what and then bring it back? Can we put it on the reconsideration list and have them bring it back and let's see what it would be to have it privatized and then come back and discuss that versus what we're putting out and compare the numbers and then we can go one way or the other.

We can do whatever y'all want to do. Is that your motion? I file a direction.

Yeah, that's my motion.

Second. Any more questions on this issue?

Just for clarification, is that for both positions or just it is for both positions?

For both, for now. Second. It's on the reconsideration list.

Any more questions? Call for the vote. We're going to put it on reconsideration.

Councilman Conwell.

Yes.

Councilwoman Kerrig. Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger. Yes. Councilman Fisher. Yes. Councilman Brigham.

Yes.

Councilman Bishop.

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell.

Yes.

Chairman Hudson.

Yes. And we're going to take a 10-minute break to go to the bathroom.

Thank you.

Oh, that's right. All right.

Thank you. We are back from a brief break. Ms. Thompson, thank you for being patient. We had to take a little break there. Of course. Welcome. Julie's here to represent the probate judge.

She's currently the probate judge.

She is currently the probate judge. Yes.

Okay, so I was going to actually get into that. So I'm Julie Thompson. I retired from the county in February after 28 years as the associate probate judge. I have since been appointed as the interim probate judge pending, well, the rest of this term, but we will be having an election, as you know. And as you may or may not know, we do have a contested election for this position. I am not running. So I am here to support higher salaries for the probate judge and the associate probate judge, but just want to make it known this is not really for my benefit. I am just trying to help the transition for whoever it ends up being next time. All right, so I've got a handout that I gave everyone. It starts with a salary. Well, it's more than just a salary comparison, but it's a salary comparison with the population, with the caseload, and also with the caseload per judge. So just to explain it a little bit, so if you look at the very first, it's got Aiken. They have four judges. That's what that four means by Aiken. That salary means that they are number 11 in salary in the state. They are number 11, if you keep going over to the right, they are number 11 in population, number nine in caseload, number 11 in cases per judge. So that's what all of that means. All right. So I'm not going to go through every county, and you can certainly look at that, although obviously I will mention that Lexington, we are number six in population, number six in caseload. We are number four in cases per judge. So that means we have more cases per judge than we should. If we were where we should be, we would be number six. We are number 14 in salary. All right. Now, again, you're going to see me focusing more on the probate judge salary because that is more publicly available for me to find. I do have some associate judge salaries also for the ones we could find, but not as many. So you'll see me focusing more on probate judge, but I'm really wanting to focus on the associate probate judge. I do think the probate judge should be increased more but I really want to focus on associates. So we have two people running. Obviously, one of them is going to be elected, and when they are elected, they are going to need to hire one or two associate probate judges. Currently, we would be advertising that position at $78,927. As you can see by the associate judge numbers I do have, We are nowhere close to what other counties are paying their associate judges. And for the ones that are blank, I just could not find it. But it's probably, I think, better to just look at the disparity between the probate judge salary, because I do have everybody there, and instead of just the associates. So I did want to bring up that so Lexington is number 14. If you will look at that at the bottom of the chart on page two, I did not break out these smaller counties with their caseloads and that sort of thing. But we're number 14, but I want you to see number 12 is Orangeburg with a population of 83,000. Florence is number 13 with a population of 137,000. Number 15, so we're number 14. Number 15 has a population of essentially 39,000, and we only make $1,500 more than their probate judge. So I think you can see that there is a wide disparity in caseload and population versus the salaries. I also want to mention we did hire a new associate probate judge in 2024. We were very fortunate to get her. The only reason, in my opinion, that we did is because she kind of grew up with us in the probate court. She had been with us for almost 10 years before she went to law school. And then when she graduated, she actually went and worked for a circuit judge for a couple of years. And then she came with us. She was the only applicant, though. When I ran the position, she was the only person who applied. And I believe that is because of how low the salary is. Your next probate judge is going to need one or two. I don't know how much luck they're going to have at our current salary.

How many hours a week is that job? Is that 40 hours a week?

It's actually more than 40 because we have a mental health phone. And so... One of the probate judges has to be on call 24 hours a day. And so we are, it's more than 40. All right. I wanted to point out on page eight of your handout, it's actually at, it's page nine, sorry. This is the Dorchester Probate Court. Well, they were actively looking for an associate probate judge just through the end of March is when it ended. Their starting salary is $119,604. Dorchester is number 12 in population. As you know, we're number six. So I just wanted to give you an actual job ad to show this comparison. I also wanted to bring up, when I gave you these caseload numbers on the first two pages, those are just our estate caseload numbers. We have mental health caseload. We have a guardianship conservator caseload, marriage licenses, and that sort of thing. The mental health caseload is about to increase dramatically. So we have had an out-of-county probate judge who's been holding our out-of-county mental health hearings. So when a Lexington County resident is in another county and needs to be hospitalized, He's been holding almost all of those for us. He's retiring, and in October, we are going to be getting all of those cases back. That's going to increase our mental health caseload by over 900 cases a year. So we are about to have a big increase in our cases. And I do believe the upcoming probate judge, whoever that may be, is going to have a very difficult time hiring. ON PAGE 3, 3-5, are the new program worksheets that we sent in for the upgrade. So this shows the number. I did want to say that if you'll notice, I marked through on number three under probate judge, the second column, it said 175. I marked through that and put 160. The reason is because there is a $15,000 state supplement. And that was included in the 175, and it should not have been. So we're really asking for 160. Then with the 15-state supplement, that takes it to 175. If that were to happen, our salary on the chart, we would be number six, right where we are with population, right where we are with caseload, although we would still have a higher case-per-judge limit than others.

Let's see. How far behind are we on cases?

That's really hard to answer. Of course, we're trying not to be behind. How long does it take to get an estate open? I don't know if that's exactly what you mean. If you're talking about hearings, that's something different. I don't feel like we're behind on hearings at all. Now, that doesn't mean that some haven't been waiting for a year to be scheduled, but that is typically because we are waiting on service for the attorneys to get their documents served before we will schedule a hearing.

If people have still been in probate for three or four years, it's not because of us. No. Okay.

No. Now, like I said, they could have a lot of litigation. And once you start with litigation, that does significantly slow things down. But it's not typically because of us. Now, I will say the last year, two years, have been perhaps a little slower than normal. Right. But I believe we have gotten back on track. And we need to hire... a third associate judge. We've got three in the budget. We only have two right now. I'm not hiring one because I believe whoever is elected should have that choice. I don't believe I should hire. So we will still be running with only two for a little while. But hopefully we'll get up to fully staffed at some point.

So Mr. Chair, if I might. Just make a recommendation, and then we can go from there. I feel like the two candidates who are running for the probate judge know the salary that they're running for. And so perhaps whoever wins could come back to us. They take office in January. They'll get in for the next budget cycle. Perhaps they could come and talk to us about what their particular salary looks like. But I would certainly make a motion that we approve the two associate judge increases.

Second. Second.

Any questions? Ms. Carrig has made a motion. And Ms. Carrig made a motion. And Mr. Bishop made the second.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Carrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fisher?

Yes.

Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop? Yes. Vice Chair Cockrell?

Yes.

Chairman Hudson?

Yes.

Thank you.

And just for clarification, that was to approve it, not for a reconsideration list? Correct.

All right. How are y'all today?

We have Auditor, Mr. Chris Harmon.

The auditor's office is asking for an additional position, a property coordinator position. This property coordinator position, we have five property coordinator positions in our office, and then we have four customer service reps. The customer service reps really work the front line of the office, the property coordinators manage the tax process for the different property types. One of them being is processing the homestead applications and then changes and stuff coming out of the assessor's office with legal residence applications and stuff. We've seen just an increase in the number of applications. It's not only the increase in the population of the county, It's really the baby boomers hitting the age group, and we've got more homestead applications because the qualification is 65. Part of the, I guess, justification for the ask, one thing off the top was there were legislative changes being discussed about homestead. At this point, I think they're going to be pushed until next year, but they were looking to increase the homestead application numbers exemption amount from $50,000 on your home to $150,000. And what was really concerning is they were looking to lower the age from 65 to 60. And so I knew we were going to get a whole bunch of applications there. But when you really look at the numbers, we We review about 2,800 applications each year and then approve. The review process can be time-consuming. You have issues where you're really having to research that deed to figure out who exactly is the owner. You end up in situations where it's like a mobile home, and then you have the real estate. You have issues where there are multiple owners. It's not just take the application, enter it in. Disposition also handles reports that come out of the Department of Revenue and even the coroner's office. When people pass away, we have to adjust, take the application off, handle that, and then we get changes that come from the assessor's office. time we're handling one homestead application, we're having to enter or delete it from our tax billing system and also from the assessor's canvas system. So we're essentially having to touch it twice, which out of the 8,000 records that they review in a year, you're really doing data entry for twice that amount. Another reason for asking for the position is just the number of phone calls that our office is getting. We started tracking our phone calls last year, and we average about 250 calls a day. Right now, there's 15 of us on staff. Typically, there's 10 people on the phone. If we're fully staffed, you have 10, but we don't ever seem to be, there's always someone on vacation, someone out sick or something. So if you looked at like seven people logged in, answering the phone each day, a phone call might take, Less than five minutes to handle, but typically when you're getting a phone call, you're solving a problem like they're at the counter. So they're going to either email you, maybe they're going to email the title to their car that they want to bill at it on. You're going to process the refund form. So there's going to be work that you're going to do for that phone call for the lion's share of them that when you add it up, it takes... Over half the day for the people answering the phone. So the volume of the phone calls, along with just the increase in the applications, we feel that one additional position should help spread it out a little bit more so that we can continue to provide good customer service, make sure that we're doing things properly, accurately, and also just helping the citizens make sure we get all their calls and things that they need done.

I have a question. Separate to part from your request here. How do we go about getting an employee that can correlate the residential houses and the automobiles that park at that same residential house, but they're out-of-state tags and they don't pay any taxes in South Carolina because their cars are registered in another state?

Well, we have a reporting process right now. So if you have that situation where you have a neighbor...

But that's generated by the populace saying, oh, I see a car, and they call in for it. I'm talking about somebody to actively go seek it out. I don't mean drive around the county to look at it. I mean look at the property tax records and say, okay, there are no cars registered at this house.

Well, what we do right now, it's like if you have a neighbor, they've got out-of-state tags, and you fill the report and go, this address, this car, this is the tag. We'll have the sheriff's office run the tag for us. If the name matches, we're going to start writing them letters. So we'll write them a letter, tell them what we found, give them a chance to respond to the letter. After that, we're going to start putting bills on for them if they don't respond. So we do... deal with it. Now, there's no real leverage in teeth to make them pay it. I've identified there's a car in Lexington County that's taxable. I don't have the ability to force them to pay it, register it, but that's a topic that's bigger than me, I guess. But right now, our office does have a way for you to report it. And we can bill it, and then after a while, If they've ignored the bills we've put on, they can have five years' worth of tax bills sitting there, and once they decide they're going to register it, they're going to pay all five before they can get current. I mean, it's not someone driving to the house, but that's what we do right now.

If you've got a property tax and you don't pay it, you can do a sale.

I don't think you can do, the tax sale is just real estate.

I don't think you can do it for...

I mean, you have, people report when they report, we send letters and we respond. I mean, we don't not do anything. We don't have someone riding around...

Mr. Harmon, also whenever they apply for legal residence within the assessor's office, isn't there a process there for verifying the vehicles as well?

They do. When he initially takes the legal residence application, he wants to see that your cars are registered there. I don't know that he can yank legal residence. find vehicles not registered there. That would be a question for Rick, not me. But I know in the past there was, well, just pull their legal residence, and I don't know if they can legally do that because the car is not there anymore. Rick could tell you that.

My whole point was when they apply for legal residence, they're supposed to be officers.

On the front end, they're registering that car.

Right, correct.

Just curious. It feels like there's an awful lot of out-of-state cars on our roads, and I don't think they're just... Well, an interesting thing.

It's funny. Randy Halfacre, you know, the mayor of Lexington. I get him. He reports all the time. And so far, everyone he's done has been enterprise leasing owned a car. Every single one.

Wow.

Do you have any vacancies in your office?

Not currently.

No vacancies. But we do for county overall, obviously we do fund all positions, but we do use as well that funding. Questions? Yeah, to balance the budget. In this case specifically.

Yeah. To do, we have a vacancy that's been filled. They're starting on the 12th, I believe. So we have filled the vacancy that we have. The turnover rate is what? I don't have the number, but in the last few years it's been high. We're burning people out working in my office. I mean, it's just... You're drinking out of a fire hose, what it feels like at times. It's hard for the property coordinator positions to have the detailed work to do, and then it's the constant phone calls coming in all day long.

I'll second that.

I have one more question. Questions? AI taking a role in any of this? Stuff that Beth was talking about in...

I think there's a potential with AI to help answer some of the questions that the callers are doing. And so we've been working with Jeff Brewer to make sure that everything in our website is right, because AI is going to pull from what it can find. So I think his hope is you'd be able to ask a question and maybe be able to get a response, and it would help. You know, on top of the calls, we probably get 40 or more emails every day that are doing the same thing that the people standing in line and getting calls are doing. So, I mean, it's just an influx of transactions coming in. I think that's what Jeff Brewer is looking. Yeah, I think that's what he's moving towards. Answering the questions would come from the information that we're giving. I will ask this, since it's just a consideration list. I would go for a customer service rep position that is a lesser position than this if I can get anything. It would be fine with the 104 or 105. I don't have those numbers. Was that included in your... No, it would not be included, but I'm just saying if it's money that you're looking at, we need any help we can get. So I can get you those numbers...

Yeah, I'll report back next year.

This one's a 109, and that one's probably a 105. So instead of 58,000, it would probably be in the 40-something thousand.

I don't think we're saying no. I think we just need to take a total look at what's in front of us. I get that, but I'm just – I'll take something else. Okay.

All right, we have the motion was made by Charlie and seconded by Ms. Kerrig. Madam Clerk, call for the vote.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Kerrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fisher?

Yes.

Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop?

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell?

Yes.

Chairman Hudson?

Yes. That's for the reconsideration list. Kelly Poole.

Thank you. Can y'all hear me okay?

It's the short person.

I want to thank you all for the time that we have this afternoon and the opportunity to share with you the library's request as well. I know that everything you have before you is a lot to consider and very challenging. The library, too, continues to grow at a rapid pace. As you know, we have 10 locations and two mobile libraries. Circulation or the books that we check out, both print and e-books, are still the bread and butter. And those numbers are close to 1.6 million last year. Still trending very high. Some of the growth and different things we've done the last year and a half include a mobile app, the digitization project we've mentioned a couple times featuring local history, and then you see various other things on the slide, such as notary, community gardens, including IMAX, et cetera, that we've added over the last five to 10 years. Beyond the books. Our new card rate is holding really steady around 13, 13.5 every year. So that's new card applicants annually. Mobile print jobs, where you can print and pick your item up at the library. You basically upload it and then come to the library for your printout. That's exponentially increasing, as well as fax service now and notary services. OUR DOOR COUNT FOR THE ENTIRE SYSTEM LAST YEAR WAS 627,728. EVERY YEAR BETWEEN MYSELF, SOME OF OUR ADMIN POSITIONS, AND THE LIBRARY BOARD, WE PRIORITIZE ESPECIALLY THE POSITIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. We continue to trend behind the standard of FTEs recommended by the South Carolina State Library. So you see the figures there. It should be 158. We're currently at 130 for our population. So as we lay out the request, I have three personnel requests, which would, of course, be recurring funds, and then three facility requests. to take each position one at a time and kind of highlight the branch and the services that they offer. And rapidly growing Chapin. Chapin is our fourth busiest branch. So you have Lexington, Irma, Ocasey, and then Chapin. Chapin, Batesburg, and Pelion we consider medium branches. But Chapin currently is open the... amount of hours. And so trying to increase that by opening an additional morning and evening and providing different service opportunity time points is our best strategy for the branch at this moment. To add a morning and an evening, which is roughly a total of four more hours a week, we have to have three staff people for each shift. Adding one position, the library assistant, too, would strengthen that ability for assisting in reference and technology transactions. Last year alone, Chapin circulated almost 100,000 items out of that branch. Their notary transactions are trending to be 25% higher than year before, already year to date. Reference transactions hit 7,725. And just as some of my colleagues have shared, that could be, you know, as Chris said, could be a two-minute phone call. It could be an hour worth of time. It just varies. The library board is very supportive of all the requests, especially this one and trying to expand the service hours in that location. Next request is a library assistant three in the KC West Columbia branch. So KC West Columbia being the third largest, they're open 67 hours a week, seven days a week. A YS or children's position is our highest need in that branch alone. They hit 24,000 reference transactions. And when we say reference, that includes children's reference, reader's advisory, technology assistance. But their programs, the number of programs that children's department does alone in attendance has skyrocketed. They have an awesome team, but they're struggling day to day to keep up. They had an increase of 15% programs, just the programs they offered. So they went from 627 to 719 the last two years. And the attendance is 27% increase. So they've served 148,000 young people and sometimes caregiver in just their programs alone at KC West Columbia. Batesburg-Leesville is our fifth busiest branch. And the highest need there is the addition of a librarian one that would focus on adult programming, technology assistance, collection development, also serve as what we call an MOD or a manager on duty. They are also open seven days a week. They're open 56 hours, and so that's a huge spread. The amount of historic and local history programs and partnerships we have in that area is huge. We'd be able to meet those needs better. The quest for adult programming, things that are more literary-based, intellectually stimulating, was a really high request in our focus groups with our strategic plan last year. jump to some of the one-time costs. Again, with Batesburg-Leesville, Batesburg-Leesville was our headquarters branch for a long time for the library system. In 1998, the main library was located into Lexington, the facility we're in now. The public service desk for the Batesburg-Leesville branch then, as it became, is facing the Their backs are facing, I even can't describe it. You have to look at them. That desk is facing the floor and where their computers are. And so when you come in the front door, the staff's back is to you. I understand completely at the time of the design, the tech assistance was number one importance. But that door opens a double door automatic opening. You can go either side around the desk. It's simply not safe anymore, and it is not good customer service for those coming in. We'd like to have it rebuilt and shifted to the right so that the staff have a direct line of sight, but as do the patrons know that here's our customer service point as we come in. I kind of highlighted some of the stats that go along with that branch, the number of reference transactions and text assistance that they have. Well, then to that remodel in 98. Gilbert and Gaston public service desks, this request is almost identical, so I'm going to talk about them kind of in tandem. Gilbert, Summit, and Gaston had additions in approximately the same timeframe, 2007 and 2009. Their desks and the whole entire layout of the branch are almost identical. And so at this point, we have a couple of slides here that show the wear and tear on the desk. But more importantly, that the end that you see in this picture is really to serve children. And it's not ADA compliant. So a rebuild would, of course, improve the aesthetics of a well-worn, torn desk. And this one is Gaston's on the inside. But also we could make that cut out where it could be both ADA compliant and serviceable to children and families. Those are the only desks in all three of those branches that serve the public. So they don't have multi-desks like some of the other branches do, Chapin and the other three big ones. I know I went through there kind of fast. Again, I have a summary here of the recurring costs, totaling $181,442. The three facility improvements, all featuring the service desks. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

I don't have any pictures of those $17,000 desks, do you? I'm just curious why they're that high. Seems expensive to me.

There's a workroom-type component directly behind them and another side desk. I can get you a full picture. I'd like to see it. But it's got three stations at Gaston and Gilbert. They have three stations, and Batesburg has three as well. Michelle's at four. At Batesburg, three? Three. Three service points. So some of the other things that have changed is the way the book return works, where to put those materials, ADA compliancy at all three, incorporate a children's aspect to it, and then in the back piece of Gaston and Gilbert, there is a side component that's actually on the wall and not in the desk unit itself. So it includes all of that. So the 17 was for all those locations? 17 each, one for Gaston, one for Gilbert.

I'd like to see a picture of that.

Is that something you buy already put together?

Are they anchored to the floor?

Yes, ma'am, they are. They're built in and anchored to the floor. Yes, ma'am, they're totally structured. Those quotes are from our building services team, so they have done some other work for us. I trust their estimates. They do sometimes quote high due to the increase in costs. And fortunately for us, and I'm sure the rest of the county departments, we often come in under on their projects.

I don't doubt you. That's shocking, $50-something for three desks.

And it would be, I guess, to visualize it more as cabinetry or built-ins versus something we would buy through a vendor, like not a furniture company. We would not buy it ourselves from a furniture company.

I know that Chapin is packed. The Chapin Library is packed all the time. I DON'T KNOW, LARRY, HOW YOU ARE WITH . I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE INFORMATION ON THE .

which is the last category. This is what you're saying? Yeah, and then we get the total numbers in the back end. We can, you know, back up and see what really matters and what maybe doesn't. So I would say put the whole thing together.

Is that your motion?

Yeah, I think I'd like to make a motion to reconsider this if it's possible. Second.

Any other questions? Yeah, I would.

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Kerrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger? Yes. Councilman Fischer?

Yes.

Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop?

Yes.

Vice Chair Cockrell?

Yes.

Chairman Hudson? Thank you.

Thank you. If you look at your accommodations tax, Jessica sent out the recommended, and then we followed that up with, had her send out the numbers that I played with. I think I've talked to everybody on this council about the where and the whys and wherefores. I have met with Lake Murray Country. That will, from this point, not be Lake Murray Country on that sub-line. That sub-line of 053-4212 will be Purple Martin Sanctuary. Different account number. Different account number. So that will be for the sanctuary. I have met with, obviously, Lake Murray Country. I have met with Keller, Kassam, and Houston. We can't start doing anything on the island. It's deteriorating. It's falling apart. And we're very careful. The birds will come to migration. They're just concerned. And we can't really do anything until the water is drawn down. I won't be here in two years. I would hope that y'all would continue. They're going to form a 5013C. Selections from the public, from the corporate, from Newberry County. I think you know where I'm headed with this.

So Darrell Richland, Lexington, Saluda.

Mr. Chair, if I may make a comment about the redistribution that you are recommending for the five chambers. Equal distribution is, I'm all in favor of that for sure. They all work just as hard for their areas. I've been doing this for years, and I still think they all do as much as they can for their areas that they serve. have an equal distribution.

Any motion or anything for this, or do you want to

Think about it, reconsider, or bring it back whenever we talk again next week, have a chance to look over it. What would you like to go from here?

I already sent the email on it, so it's not like it's unless somebody didn't see the email. So I would like to make a motion to approve the recommendation for a tax. I'll second.

Any questions? For that motion is by Mr. Brigham. Mr. Cockrell? Madam Clerk, call for the vote.

Councilman Conwell?

Yes.

Councilwoman Kehrig? Yes. Councilwoman Wessinger?

Yes.

Councilman Fisher? Councilman Brigham?

Yes.

Councilman Bishop? Yes. Vice Chair Cockrell? Yes. Chairman Hudson?

Yes. And that is the end of our budget workshop session for May 5th, but I do see that a budget COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION TO SCHEDULE FOR OUTSIDE OTHER AGENCY REQUESTS AND DISCUSSION OF ITEMS THAT MAKE THE CONSIDERATION LIST FOR FUNDING ON MAY 12TH.

THAT'S CORRECT. THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR NORMAL COUNCIL MEETING NEXT TUESDAY. RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE THERE'S TWO, AND I DON'T HAVE THE NAME, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S TWO AGENCIES THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME IN, AND WE'LL PROBABLY DO THAT WITHIN THE COMMITTEE ROOM DURING THE COMMITTEE MEETING. RIGHT. ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING ELSE?

I do have one comment on the accommodation tax dollars. I don't know how many of you guys have actually looked in the SharePoint drive and looked at the documentation that a lot of these entities are providing. Some of them knock it out of the park. Others are horrible. Horrible. I can name a couple off the top of my head, but I won't. So I would like to see some type of accountability with holding those ones that are not so good, getting them brought up to par so that there are no questions on how these monies are spent.

Why don't you come up with a series of questions with those that you have a concern about, and I will be more than happy to send that out on my letterhead and we'll get a response. Perfect.

Thank you.

How about that? All right, we're going to take a voice vote. All in favor of recess, raise your hand. Have a great day.