You Can't Pay For It All

I read the story about Pickens County Council giving $500,000 to the YMCA. I did not vote for this, and I want to explain why. In 2021 the federal government gave the Pickens County government $23.4 million. Departments within the county government made $66 million of requests for that Covid relief money. In the end, the county spent millions on things like: blue bins at the recycle centers ($187,000), a county wide radio system for police, fire and EMS ($10.3 million), a shredder for the landfill ($900,000), bonuses for first responders and essential staff who worked through Covid ($2.1 million), a bailer for recycle-ables ($778,000), sewer plant repairs ($1.3 million) and more.

In late 2023 the county administration proposed the rest of the Covid money ($8.4 million) be used to build a new 911 call center behind the administration building. Soon after, the council approved $50,000 to hire an architect to draw up the plans. In April the council approved the plans and put the project out for bid. To build the call center is going to take every bit of the remaining $8.4 million and even more.

At the July council meeting, Councilwoman Claiborne Linvill made a motion to give $500,000 of the remaining Covid money to the YMCA to help it finish off building their childcare center at their new facility in Easley. I argued against this for many reasons. One, the remaining Covid money was set aside to help build the new 911 call center to improve public safety.

Second, childcare is a private sector function, not a responsibility of the county government. There is no childcare department in the county government. On the other hand, our public safety departments have 350 employees, their managers have millions in requests and public safety sits squarely in the lap of responsibility of county council.

Third, the YMCA has $8 million in annual revenue, $10.1 million in equity and reported $3.6 million cash on hand at the end of 2023, $4.7 million in 2022 and $2.8 million on hand in 2021. It is a private multi-million organization of means.

Fourth, anyone who has been in the Sheriff’s office on LEC Road and seen the 911 dispatch center, knows the room is way too small, is 50 plus years old, and is in worse shape than any facility at the YMCA.

My arguments fell on deaf ears, so I figured if the council was determined to spend this $500,000 on something else, I would propose it be spent on another tippy-top priority — building a new EMS station in Pickens. Medic 1 was the metal shack behind the library, but it had sewer back-up issues for years and it had to be shut down. The council must build a new Pickens station in the next 18 months, so I made a motion to spend the $500,000 on that instead of giving it to the Y. It was voted down.

There are thousands of needs in Pickens County. Some are responsibilities of county government, some are not. Of those which are, some are high priorities and some are low. Our elected leaders need to know the difference, because there is not enough of your money to go around for all of it.