Blythewood Town Council passes $3.7M budget, clips Griffin’s unauthorized spending

BLYTHEWOOD – During the June 23 regular council meeting, Blythewood town council voted 3-2 to pass a $3,760,905 FY 2025-26 budget, taking measures aimed at clipping unauthorized spending. 

To that end, council targeted several line items they said Mayor Sloan Griffin had overspent in last fiscal year’s 2024-25 budget without authorization. They also looked at other line items in this year’s 2025-26 budget where Griffin asked for large amounts of funding that he had not provided documentation to back up estimated costs.

To protect the budget from what council members called unauthorized spending, council used $1 as a place holder until a need arises for the funding during the coming year. They voted to place $1 in three Miscellaneous line items in the 2025-26 budget under governing body, administration, and public works as well as 12 other line items.

“I believe in this year’s budget we cleaned up financial mismanagement that the town saw during the prior fiscal year,” Town Council Pro Tem Donald Brock said. “Council, as a whole, has a better understanding of where the mismanagement occurred and worked together to curb excessive spending in the new budget. We also gave ourselves room to amend the budget should the need arise. The 2025-26 budget is clean and fat-free with no added burdens to staff or the taxpayers; this is how government should run.”

Last Year’s Overspending

Some of the problems in last year’s budget occurred in the line item for Miscellaneous under Administration. The $31,500 budgeted for that line item was primarily for staff uniforms, flowers, staff appreciation, flags for graves, and reimbursement for annual child-care/gym membership for full time employees at $500 each. Of the budgeted amount, $12,000 was spent for those items.

An analysis sheet of last year’s budget provided to The Voice by the Town’s finance director showed, in that same line item, an unauthorized $5,672 Santa Land event that was never brought to council, and an unauthorized $17,789 Christmas party, also not brought to council, were paid for from the $31,500 budgeted for that line item, bringing the total spent to $34,351 – almost $3,000 in unauthorized spending over the budgeted amount.

The Christmas party was ostensibly for employees; however, there were only about 20 or so employees in attendance. Griffin said he sent out about 150 invitations. Most of those in attendance were elected officials from across the Midlands, including the Mayor of Lake City, S.C, Fairfield County School District board members, Richland County Council members and other officials and former officials.

.The same analysis of the 2024-25 budget also shows that Griffin spent $8,250 for unbudgeted and unauthorized Christmas bonuses for staff from another line item that had no funding allocated, bringing the total of unauthorized spending from two line items to just over $11,000.

Looking to protect the new 2025-26 budget from unauthorized spending, council allocated $0 for five capital improvement items totaling over $5.5 million that Griffin requested but had no documentation or estimates available:  $1 million for a Senior Activity Center;  $1.5 million for a Farmer’s Market; $750,000 for pickle ball courts that he said would replace the newly renovated soccer fields; $1.2 million for ball fields on the McLean property; and $1 million to renovate the BHE gym which the Town would then rent from Richland School District Two.

“I believe any request for capital improvement money, especially in these amounts, should have been discussed with council members at our goal setting session held with the Municipal Association,” Councilman Rich McKenrick said. “The continuing lack of informed communication from the mayor has dampened my trust to fund such large capital improvement he requested in the 25-26 budget.”

Mayor Griffin has not yet responded to The Voice’s request for comment.

2025-26 Budget

In the new budget, council allocated $85,000 for Town sponsored events, including Movies in the Park, Christmas Tree lighting, July 4 fireworks, Juneteenth, Veterans Day, Purple Heart dinner, and the Christmas Parade.

The budget also allocates $50,000 for 11 community/cultural/ outside agencies that include Christian Assistance Bridge, Macedonia and Round Top food banks, the Farmers’ Market, Meals on Wheels, The Big Grab, Camp Discovery, WMCA, and the Blythewood Historical Society & Museum.

Sponsorships were budgeted for the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce ($4,000), and $1,000 each to The Big Red Barn, Transitions, and Range for Hope.

For the last few years, council has divided an allocation of $67,500 annually (from the 30% tourism related funds) between two tourism marketing firms to promote Blythewood: Lake Murray Country ($33,750) and Experience Columbia ($33,500). This year, however, Experience Columbia did not request funding, leaving $33,500 unused in that line item which is restricted to uses for tourism.

Council also voted to reinstate $10,000 in funding to the Blythewood Historical Society & Museum for employee and landscape expenses at the Langford-Nord House.

Both Griffin and Councilwoman Erica Page voted against the budget.

Page voted against it after council failed to support her suggestion to approve a COLA (cost of living) increases for town hall staff.

Councilman Donald Brock pointed out that council had given staff both COLA and merit increases every year that he could remember including both a 3 percent COLA and a 3 percent merit increase last year. He said the staff is very well paid.

Besides extended sick leave and paid weather days, last year staff received several bonuses, including $500 reimbursement for gym memberships/child care for full time employees; Christmas bonuses ($500 for full time staff and $250 for part time); birthday bonuses of $100 for full time staff and $50 for part time, Thanksgiving gift cards; and tickets to a Fireflies game as well as other staff appreciation perks.

Griffin did not express why he voted against the budget.