4 recent headlines to know from local government

Democrat Scott elected

to South Carolina House District 50 seat

Keishan Scott, a Lee County Democrat, won the S.C. House of Representatives District 50 race, according to certified results. Scott secured 2,595, or 70.55%, of the votes. His opponent, Republican William Oden, secured 1,079, or 29.34%, of the votes. There were four write-ins, amounting to 0.11% of the votes.

Scott was born and raised in Lee County, where he currently serves and has served for two years on Bishopville City Council. Scott also works as a paralegal in Sumter.

Scott ran on a platform of access to health care, workforce empowerment, quality education and expanding infrastructure/economic development.

Of the total votes, Sumter favored Scott, with 727, or 78.43%, of the votes going to the Democratic candidate.

Sumter saw 200, or 21.57%, of the votes go to Oden. Lee County also favored Scott, with 1,549, or 69.03%, of the votes going to him and 692, or 30.84%, of the votes going to Oden. Kershaw County saw Scott secure 319, or 62.92%, of the votes and Oden garner 187, or 36.88%, of the votes.

Sumter County passes budget for 2025-26 with no tax increase

At its budget workshop on Tuesday, June 10, Sumter County Council's budget was still showing a $491,063 deficit, but by the end of the night, the budget was balanced with $65,179,733 in expenditures and revenues.

In the budget workshop, County Administrator Gary Mixon's suggestion for balancing the budget was pulling money from the county's current general fund balance. Mixon said this has been done in previous years and that this option would balance the budget without a tax increase. The county pulled from its fund balance in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years.

Among the county's expenditures are a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees of $1,012,574, a 4.6% health insurance increase of $101,963 and $616,759 worth of personnel requests.

The 2025-26 fiscal year and the implementation of the budget will begin on July 1.

City of Sumter receives less in community development money than budgeted for; updated allocation approved

Community Development Block Grants, or CDBG money, are awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support low- to moderate-income city residents and projects.

The budget for the grant money is made before the money is awarded, so the amount that is originally budgeted for is based on how much was awarded in the prior year.

Last year, the City of Sumter was awarded $368,392, which was more money than it was awarded the previous year. However, this year Sumter received $333,755, which is $34,637 less than was awarded for 2024-25.

With this decrease, the budget needed to be rebalanced. Here's what has changed:

- $73,678 going toward administration costs for the program has decreased to $66,751.

- Originally, $165,314 was budgeted for housing repair for low- to moderate-income residents, but that number has been lowered to $143,104.

- The $49,000 that was budgeted for the employment of 40 low- to moderate-income youth has decreased to $43,500.

Other than the above changes, every other allocation stayed the same. This includes $30,000 for demolition, $44,900 for Sumter United Ministries, $2,500 for YMCA youth services and $3,000 for the HYPE program.

City of Sumter reports on how annual grant funding was spent

At its May 20 meeting, Sumter City Council heard from Community Development Director Clarence Gaines, who gave the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. The report shows how the city utilized $368,392 in CDBG money from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

The money was used in the following ways:

- Sewer improvements were completed for five low- to moderate-income (LMI) homeowners.

- Façade grant assistance was provided for two downtown businesses to provide historic preservation.

- Seven owner-occupied homes were rehabilitated for LMI occupants.

- Ten owner-occupied houses had minor repairs done with money provided to Sumter United Ministries.

- Sixty-one students were employed last summer, with 35 in the Co-Op program (14- to 15-year-old children) and 26 in the Youth Corps program (high school youth aged 16 and up).

- Sixteen LMI youth received a variety of services provided by the YMCA.

- One hundred and fifteen students were able to go on a summer camp field trip to Neptune Water Park, and 115 back packs with school supplies were provided to the youth for the upcoming school year.

- Nine blighted structures were demolished.

The 2025-26 budget has already been passed, but it is never too early to have the usage of CDBG money on your radar. During October and November, the city holds community meetings with the aim of hearing how residents want the money spent. Last year the city held five meetings: one at each HOPE Center and one during a city council meeting. Attending these meetings is the best way to make your voice heard.