The Sumter County Board of Commissioners met Sept 10. Commissioners Clay Jones from District 1, Mark Waddell from District 2, Jim Reid running for reelection in District 3, Chair David
Baldwin from District 4, and Jessie Smith from District 5 were in attendance. Justin Brown, the chief ranger with the Forestry Service, addressed the Commissioners. He talked about prescribed burning; “as a chief ranger coming in, that is actually one of my goals, is I would like to increase, not only in in Sumter County, because I have Schley County as well, but to actually increase the prescribed burning, and the burning that we help landowners with. A lot of people don’t know that we had those services.”

Brown stated they make fire breaks, charging landowners only the cost. “It’s $205 for the first hour, and then $130 after that.” He mentioned they charge a suppression fee when responding to fires that were lit without a permit. “For these acreage burns, if they don’t have a permit, they are charged from the time that he is dispatched to the fire to the time that I called that we are released off of that scene.” Brown stated that permits were free. He also stated they issued unlawful burn notices.

Public works director Jim Littlefield then addressed the Commissioners, stating that County Administrator Douglas Eaves had asked about spraying right of ways. Littlefield commented; “We do have a problem. Can’t get them cut fast enough.” He did note that a week prior Byron Wright from ChemPro had reached out.

Wright addressed the Board talking about ChemPro’s effectiveness. He stated that the four mowing cycles the County currently had could be cut down to two, with the exception that a third might be required the first year of application.

Reid calculated that ChemPro’s price was $21 to treat an acre’s worth of roadway, including chemicals and equipment, which he stated was cheap.

Amy Adams addressed the Board during citizen’s comments. She referred to a yard sale her and her husband had operated that had been shut down by code enforcement. Adams stated that it had taken two months for her to receive a letter from the code enforcement officer Javaris Terry explaining why their yard sale was considered a business. She raised questions about the ordinance referenced by Terry in the letter, which referenced articles two and three of title 34, which she stated dealt with the environment. When questioned after the meeting, Terry stated that environmental problems could include public nuisance.

Reid questioned Adams. “Between January one of this year and June the 20th, how many yard sales have ya’ll had?”

Adams replied: “We had four, and the fourth one was the 20th of June when we were shut down.”

Finance director Lomenzo Reddick addressed the Board. “Prior to the close of fiscal year 2024, we did a budget amendment to bring in everything that was over budget prior to June 30. This is the final amendment after our financial hard close.”

When asked which departments were over budget after the meeting, Jones listed jail operations, the correctional institute, and juvenile court. Reddick noticed that some expenses were out of
their control. “If you look in the CI those medical fees and inmates, there was a increase in that total from what we budgeted prior. And those are things that are pretty much beyond our
control.”

Afterward Baldwin explained that State law requires there be no over budget departments, and that funds from underbudget departments were transferred to make up the difference. Smith made a motion to approve the budget amendment, seconded by Waddell, passing unanimously.

Smith also addressed Eaves, asking if they could stop putting things to a vote via email and put them on the agenda instead. “Unless it’s an emergency. If it’s an emergency yes, but if it’s not an emergency, stuff can wait and be on the agenda and we discuss it like five men.”

The County recently passed a blight ordinance increasing taxes on blighted properties by a factor of 7. Terry reported on the state of blighted properties. “I am just about at 135 blighted houses on my desk right now.” He stated that was only 25% of the County.