WINSBORO – The Fairfield Joint Water and Sewer System Commission met Tuesday to swear in new members to the commission and elect new officers. “It makes sense for a politician to be chairman,” the commission’s attorney, CD Rhodes said, “It also makes sense for the town manager to be treasurer, because in the coming months […]
BAR, church spar over Town’s codes, siding
February 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment
BLYTHEWOOD – Attorney Jamie Walters, representing Sandy Level Baptist Church, appeared before the Town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) for the second time in as many months to request a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) that would allow the church to replace the existing vinyl siding on the church’s sanctuary building with like vinyl siding as […]
MPA sues Franklin, Town, Tonya Page for defamation, civil conspiracy, more
February 1, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Country Chronicle Publishing Company Sued for Negligence BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood leaders falsely alleged that the CEO of a local marketing firm had a romantic relationship with a sitting councilman in order to land a marketing contract with the town, according to a recently filed lawsuit. The suit also accuses a Camden news organization of publishing […]
Audit late, expected in March
January 26, 2023 By Leave a Comment
WINNBSORO – Insufficient staff and a last minute data dump by the finance department onto the auditor contributed to Fairfield County missing its annual audit deadline for the second year in a row. Now the county’s auditing firm won’t be able to present its findings to County Council until sometime in March, said interim county […]
Dinkins challenges Blythewood Town Council’s transparency
January 26, 2023 By Leave a Comment
BLYTHEWOOD – During Monday night’s town council meeting, town officials and town center property owner Byron Dinkins had their say about the approval process for a 50-foot natural gas tank for Dominion Energy that was placed next to Dinkins’ property on Blythewood Road in early December. Dinkins said Monday night that the tank did not […]
Swearingen: County’s finances in a bad spot
January 26, 2023 By 1 Comment
WINNSBORO – In addition to bad news about the county’s audit during Monday night’s county council meeting, council members received disappointing and conflicting news about the county’s fund balance. In December, the previous council leadership claimed Fairfield had been regularly depositing money into the fund balance since mid-summer and that the finances were in good […]
County’s audit overdue; state withholding funds
January 19, 2023 By 4 Comments
WINNSBORO – The SC Comptroller General’s office notified the county’s financial department on Jan. 3, 2023, that the county’s audit was overdue and that the state would begin withholding funds from the county that day. While they were aware the audit was late, Council Chair Douglas Pauley, Vice Chair Clarence Gilbert and council members Peggy […]
Pauley to lead new council; Gilbert elected vice chair
January 12, 2023 By Leave a Comment
WINNSBORO – Four county council members were sworn into office Monday evening during the regular council meeting. Douglas Pauley (District 5) and Clarence Gilbert (District 7) were re-elected to office, both serving their second full four-year terms. Also sworn in were newcomers Dan Ruff (District 1) and Peggy Swearingen (District 3). The four newly elected […]
Council votes 4-1 to adopt new policy for SAT, LAT, and H-Tax allocations
January 12, 2023 By Leave a Comment
BLYTHEWOOD – On Jan, 6, 2023, town council voted 4-1 to adopt a new policy for administering the $1 million or so revenue the Town receives from state accommodations tax (SAT), local accommodations tax (LAT) and hospitality tax (HTAX) – taxes that are largely paid by visitors to the town who eat in the town’s […]
Council sets goals for 23-24
January 12, 2023 By 1 Comment
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Town Council held a special called meeting Friday morning, Jan. 6, to discuss goals for the upcoming budget year and beyond. Charlie Barrineau, a field services manager with the South Carolina Municipal Association, coached the group on communication and cooperation in order to properly and effectively set goals. “The challenge is that […]
