WINNSBORO – Fairfield County denies that its $63 per ton solid waste fee double-bills Winnsboro town residents who also pay county property taxes to dump their trash, according to new court filings. A year ago, the county expanded the fee to include the Town of Winnsboro and Fairfield County School District. Winnsboro challenged that decision, […]
MTC president questioned on how county funding is spent
April 28, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – With Fairfield County considering tax increases and agency cuts to balance the budget, questions arose during a work session Tuesday about how the county funds Midlands Technical College. MTC president Ronald Rhames acknowledged this year’s $155,100 funding request – up from about $143,000 last year – would be spent not only in Fairfield […]
Ridgeway rec center sign defaced
April 27, 2022 By
RIDGEWAY – The sign announcing the location of the new $2.5M recreation center to be built in Ridgeway was defaced last week with the words: “Stop wasting our $$.” The location is on Highway 21 between Ridgeway and Blythewood. During the county council meeting Monday night, Chairman Moses Bell addressed the incident. “I was saddened […]
Moving On Up
April 14, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Furniture and office equipment will be moved into the new County Administration Building beginning Thursday, April 14. Developer Rory Dowling, principal with 1st and Main, and William Louder, who has overseen the project for the last several months and is assisting the county in the transition, gave The Voice a tour of the […]
Town of Winnsboro files lawsuit against County over solid waste fee
April 7, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Winnsboro is taking Fairfield County to court. On March 30, the Town of Winnsboro formally filed suit against the county, claiming in court papers that the county’s solid waste fee shouldn’t apply to Winnsboro town residents. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the $63 per ton fee is “invalid and illegal”, according […]
County didn’t know its financial status for months
April 7, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Fairfield’s auditing firm concluded there’s a “significant deficiency” in how the county keeps its financials. “A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance,” the long-awaited financial audit states. […]
Bell: Proposed dept needs are $10M over budget
March 31, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Council approved a lease agreement to operate a recreation site despite a majority of members not knowing the full cost or addressing low demand for recreation. On Monday night, the council voted 5-2 for the lease agreement with Dominion Energy. Council members Doug Pauley and Clarence Gilbert opposed. Pauley said the […]
Bell blames employees for late audit
March 17, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Moses Bell doesn’t think the public should have been informed about why Fairfield County failed to properly submit a financial audit or how it spends taxpayer money. “This was a personnel issue and I felt that it shouldn’t be in the public,” Bell, the council chairman, said. Those remarks came in response to […]
Bell notified in November of critical audit timeline
March 10, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – County officials appeared to be surprised to learn on Feb. 1, 2022, that the county’s FY2021 audit had not been submitted to the state on Jan. 1, 2022, as required by law. But documents obtained by The Voice show that the S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom sent County Council Chairman Bell a letter […]
Council majority planning third rec center
March 3, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – Mitford’s community center averages one to three people a day. Monticello’s averages three to five. Nobody visited either center at all in November. With $3M already earmarked for three rec centers in the county, council wants to spend more taxpayer money on parks and recreation. On Monday, council voted 5-2 to lease 8.12 […]
