Amended budget adds parks, recreation deputy director | #citycouncil

Council gave third and final reading Tuesday to amend the city’s current — 2022-23 — budget and the city’s organizational chart to provide for the creation of the positions, which will be paid for out of the city’s general fund budget.

“We have a lot of projects coming up,” City Administrator Sidney Evering said. “Obviously the DYB (Dixie Youth Baseball) World Series as is often said, ‘It starts in parks,’ and we have a lot going on in that particular department. I think a deputy would be beneficial.”

During the first two readings, the ordinance called for the addition of the special projects manager and the risk and safety coordinator.

The third reading saw the addition of a deputy director of parks and recreation. The deputy director will report to the director of parks and recreation. The third reading also saw an adjustment in the method of the city’s pay scale.

Prior to third reading, there were questions and discussion about the new positions.

Councilman Dr. Kalu Kalu asked Evering, “Can you afford to pay for these three positions?”

“Yes, sir,” Evering said.

“If so, how are you going to get the money?” Kalu said. “Are you going to increase the tax on the population?”

“No, sir. Not at all,” Evering said. “We have the money in this current year’s budget and obviously we are in the middle of that budget and so it would only be for the remainder of this fiscal year. Then we can budget for the positions moving forward into the next fiscal year starting Oct. 1.”

“We have sufficient money in our current budget to cover these positions,” Evering said.

Kalu asked Evering if the city will have to readjust the salaries of existing city employees in order to ensure they are paid competitively.

“That is an added expense of what you are trying to propose,” Kalu said. “So that goes to my question again: Do you have the money to pay for this even if you made the adjustment … in the new budget that you are trying to present?”

“We have not gotten into the new budget yet, but we will in the workshops and get into those budget numbers,” Evering said. “I have some proposals for you all to consider in terms of how we can increase revenue with hopefully not increasing the millage.”

Councilman Bernard Haire said he was not ready to vote on the new parks and recreation director because of some outstanding questions as it relates to the employment situation in that department.

Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler told him his questions would be answered in closed session, but Haire said he needed to hear the answers to the questions before giving his approval to the vote to add the new position.

“I am not prepared to vote on this at this time,” Haire said.

Kalu said he would also like to hear answers to Haire’s concerns in order to feel comfortable about voting on the matter.

Kalu made a motion to table the vote until a later time. The motion failed.

Council then unanimously agreed to carry the matter into closed session before voting. This motion was unanimously accepted.

Councilman Richard Stroman abstained voting on third reading.

He had previously been opposed to the hiring of the special projects manager and the risk and safety coordinator but did say he was supportive of the hiring of the parks and recreation deputy director.

“I think when you are doing the budget, I am serious, we need, I think, some more police officers,” Stroman said. “I would say three to at least five. When you do the budget, look at that real close because we are adding on to the city. That is a very important position. We need to keep that up.”

The three new positions and their responsibilities would include:

• Special projects manager would be in the city’s administration department with a salary between $47,050-70,545. This is up from the range previously mentioned in the ordinance of $40,357-60,536.

The special projects manager will be responsible for maintenance-related work and providing oversight of a maintenance project at the direction of the city administrator, according to the job description.

The individual will oversee and lead maintenance procedures and actions for the city to include managing activities for the repair of city-owned buildings, landscapes and city offices.

The position will also be responsible for conducting regular inspections of the facilities to detect and resolve problems; plan and manage repair and installation activities coordinated with city departments, other cities or agencies as required to complete projects. Duties will also include tracking expenses, reporting progress and assigning schedules.

• The risk and safety coordinator would also be in the city’s administration department and have a salary range of $50,396 to $75,594. This is the same as the range in the first two readings of the ordinance.

According to the job description, the risk and safety coordinator will be responsible for implementing and administering the city employee safety training programs. The position will also assist in developing and monitoring safety program budgets.

• The deputy director of Parks and Recreation will have a salary range of $62,961-94,441. The deputy director would assist the current parks and recreation director.

In other matters, council gave unanimous third and final reading to lease property at 351 Langston St. to bridge construction firm United Infrastructure Group Inc. The company will use the land as a storage place for the firm’s construction equipment while it replaces the U.S. 301 bridge over the North Fork of the Edisto River.

The city will lease the 1.78-acre property, located across from the Orangeburg Inn and Garden City Suites, to the company for $500 a month through May 2026.

The company will maintain the property by placing gravel down as well as securing the property by putting up fencing. City officials say the city would not be held liable for protecting the site and equipment stored.

Preliminary site preparation work has already begun at the bridge that will also include the replacement of the swamp river bridge, or the overflow bridge.

• Marc Wood of Sheheen, Hancock & Godwin LLP said through March 31 the city’s general fund revenues were about $9.6 million or 42% of the annual budget. Wood said the ideal collections should be about 50% but he noted the city has outstanding collections to still be received such as business licenses and the Municipal Association revenues.

“Revenues are expected to lag a little behind right now, so no worries there,” Wood said.

Wood said city expenses are about $12 million or 54% of the budget, which is in line with where expenses typically are during this time of year.

• Council unanimously gave second reading to adopt the 2021 Building Codes in order to make sure the codes conform with updates to national building and safety codes, which became effective Jan 1.

The state, and as a result the city, updates its building codes typically every three years. City officials say there are not expected to be any substantive changes to the code.

The code is designed to ensure building codes across the country are uniform.

Haire requested the changes to the code be highlighted by the city so he could better understand the changes. 

• Council also gave unanimous third and final reading to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with South Carolina Local Revenue Services, allowing it to participate in one or more local revenue service programs.

Under the agreement, the SCLRS, which is a new division of the Municipal Association of South Carolina and replaces MASC’s collection department, would collect business telecommunications, insurance and broker insurance taxes on behalf of the city.

The city’s fiscal year is Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

• Council unanimously voted to cancel its July 4 and July 18 regularly scheduled City Council meetings due to budget meetings.
• Council recognized “respect” as the community of character trait for the month of May. Mayor Michael Butler encouraged city residents to exercise the character trait in their daily lives.
• Council went into closed session to discuss a number of items.

These included contractual discussions related to Project Middletown and the Commercial Sanitation Enterprise Fund; and personnel discussions related to the city’s Department of Public Safety and administration departments.