2021 City of Sumter Annual Highlights

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2021

Our Mission The City of Sumter exists to provide all citizens an environment of opportunity and excellent public services.

Sumter City and County Councils, Sumter Police Department, Sumter Sheriff’s Department,

Sumter Fire Department, Sumter County

EMS, United States Air Force, United States Army, and the Royal Air Force gathered alongside members of the Sumter

Community on September 11, 2021

to honor and remember the 2,977

individuals that lost their lives 20

years ago on September 11, 2001.

Along with commemorative words by Mayor Merchant, Sumter County Council

Chairman Jim McCain, Jr. and

Commander of the 20th Fighter

Wing, Colonel Lawrence Sullivan,

the ceremony consisted of the

laying of two wreaths, a Last

Alarm Bell Service, and a flyover

by the 169th Fighter Wing out of

McEntire Joint National Guard Base.

Annual Report | City of Sumter, SC

City Council Front Row (L-R): Thomas J. Lowery, Mayor Pro Tem, Ward 1 David P. Merchant, Mayor Calvin K. Hastie, Sr., Ward 3 Back Row (L-R): Colin C. Davis, Ward 5 Steven H. Corley, Ward 4 James B. Blassingame, Ward 2 Gifford M. Shaw, Ward 6

We do by: by: We dothisthis

A Year in Review...

David P. Merchant Mayor, City of Sumter

This past year has been a busy one as your new mayor, with many community improvements completed or underway and many more still to come.

The one commitment I have had since day one was that everything we do, we would do with excellence.

One of the first changes this year was the City Council public meeting procedures. Better clarity was needed on qualifications and procedures for public comment. Existing public comment ordinances are now being enforced equitably, creating a more organized and civil environment during council meetings. We want to continue to hear from our citizens in a way that works for everyone. There are also continuous opportunities to hear from non-city residents who speak on behalf of their city-based organizations, and of course, members of the public are always welcome to contact city offices at any time.

Being a member of City Council for eight years allowed me to understand how city government works, enhancing my relationships with other leaders and helping to get things done in a timely fashion.

Some accomplishments I’m most proud of this past year are: •

We created and adopted a new mission and vision for the City.

•

Extended community sidewalks along Lynam Road, Oakland Drive, N. Guignard Drive, Reynolds Drive, Alice Drive, Lewis Road and more.

•

Completed a new public green space for outdoor learning at Lemira Elementary School.

•

Opened our first playground for Ward 5 at Patriot Park.

•

Completed phase 1 of the Palmetto Tennis Center expansion, which contributes more than 20 million dollars to the local economy every year.

•

Received over $26 million in grants for specific projects like drainage issues, Opera House renovations, housing, and more.

A priority that we continue to work on is improvements along the North Main and Manning Avenue corridors.

Coming into the mayor’s office, a goal of mine was to kick-start the project. It’s moving, and I continue meeting with other leaders on a community and state level. With progress continuing at the present rate, we hope to break ground in the summer of 2022.

This is an exciting time for the Sumter community, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s coming. As your mayor, I believe I still have a lot to learn, but working alongside our citizens, I’m enjoying it day to day and week to week.

5

Parks, Recreation, & Tourism With over 650,000 visitors to the Sumter community every year, Sumter has become one of the most highly revered communities in South Carolina for Sports Tourism.

Our flagship recreation facility, Palmetto Tennis Center, has a $21 million dollar impact on the local economy each year. Players from across the world visit Sumter each year just to play on our courts.

The PTC hosts more than 12 tournaments each year. The Palmetto Pro Open is a Women’s $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Event. It is one of four USTA Pro Circuit women’s events held in South Carolina each year.

Swan Lake Iris Gardens has grown into a world-wide destination for travelers - rated the best park by locals every year and one of the top parks in the US by TripAdvisor.com, American Bus Association and more. In December, Swan Lake experienced more than 114,000 visitors for our annual holiday favorite Fantasy of Lights, which is the largest free light show in the state of South Carolina. Overall, more than 521,000 people visited the gardens in 2021. The greenhouse has also grown, producing over 50,000 flowers in 2021, which are planted in parks all across the city.

The Sumter Opera House hosted 68 events, introducting 12,690 visitors, of all ages, to our 500+ capacity performance venue.

Level II Arboretum

Swan Lake Iris Gardens houses more than 100 different species of trees and a total of 172 plant species. The certification was provided by ArbNet Accreditation Program, the only international program of accreditation that is specific to arboreta. According to ArbNet, there are 2,092 arboreta worldwide in The Morton Register. Of these, only 457 have been accredited globally as arboretums in 35 countries. Of those 457, only 143 are Level II arboretums, including Swan Lake Iris Gardens.

Heritage Tree Award

Awarded the 2021 Heritage Tree Award - Annually, the Heritage Tree Award, which is sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts, identifies, celebrates, and recognizes remarkable trees in South Carolina.

Specifically, one of our trees along the Talking Tree Trail, a China Fir, was commended.

The addition of three new resturants and two professional mural projects in 2021 has increased traffic on both ends of Main Street in our historic Downtown Sumter.

New Pickleball Courts for all ages and

technical abililties, a new pro shop and a singles court were completed at the Palmetto Tennis Center in 2021.

The City of

Sumter, Sumter

County, and the South Carolina State Delegation partnered

to construct the very first playground in Ward 5, located

inside Patriot

Park, off Patriot

Community Sumter supports numerous events annually to help celebrate and bring awareness to over 200 worthy organizations around our community.

2021 saw the return of community events, like Fourth Fridays and our annual Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony. We were able to hold our first Bradford Pear Bounty program in partnership with Clemson Extension and Duke Energy. Residents were encouraged to cut down their Bradford Pear Tree, take a picture with their cut tree or bring it in, and were given a free native replacement tree.

Utilizing funding resources, such as the Rescue Act, we partnered with seven community organizations on housing and homeless programs, including our own Community Development Department by expanding the existing housing rehabilitation and sewer improvement programs.

Additionally, we designated funds to help develop an expanded public wireless/fiber connectivity service and after school and summer camp programs.

Fifty-five (55) youth were employeed through our Youth Co-op and Corps programs, working with local law enforcement and businesses throughout the City of Sumter. New this year was more focus on soft skills training with their employment -- this program provided the youth with the hands on, positive workforce readiness, leadership, financial literacy and skills necessary to prepare them for a post-secondary destination and/or career.

Veterans Sumter is proud to be home to more than 16,000 veterans who add so much to Sumter by sharing their diverse talents, ideas, and experiences.

Partnering with Sumter County and many other organizations around the community we were able to create a Sumter Veterans Council, whose goal is to focus on life after active duty - from housing to mental health initiatives and more. Staff and volunteers are currently developing programs and materials to share with the community.

Annual Report | City of Sumter, SC

Shaw Air Force Base We work very closely with Shaw, on a daily basis, with a team of current and former elected officials, city personnel, and military retirees in support of Shaw’s airmen, soldiers, and their families. Sumter has an active land protection program around Shaw AFB. To date, we have secured over 3,000 acres of land surrounding the Base to keep development from building too close.

Land use near military installations is always a concern. New residential and commercial development along with increasing competition for land, airspace, and water access can constrain training, testing, and other military base activities. We also partner with Shaw through the following programs: • South Carolina Military Base Task Force

• Shaw Spouses Club

• Shaw-Sumter Community Council

• Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee

• Honorary Commanders Program

• Joint public safety training and support programs through

• Weasel Welcome

our Fire and Police Departments

• ARCENT Newcomers Briefing

• and many events on and off Base to support active duty,

• Taste of Sumter Community Tours

retirees, personnel, and their families.

9

Public Safety FIRE DEPARTMENT

3,414

Number of calls for service.

1,887

Number of business inspections.

697 Number of smoke detectors installed in homes.

313 Number of community safety talks given.

300

Number of hours every Fire Investigator trained last year.

240

Number of hours every Firefighter trained last year.

21Number of car seat

installations.

10

POLICE DEPARTMENT

167,912

Number of calls for service.

18,897

Number of non-emergency requests.

10,389

Number of hours of training.

1,628 Number of contacts Project CheckMate made with senior citizens.

500 Number of backpacks donated with school supplies.

166 Number of K-9 Deployments.

Revenues vs. Expenditures Intergovernmental Revenue

Public Safety & Law Enforcement

Licenses, Permits & Franchise Fees

General Government Administration

Property Tax

Public Works Sal es Tax

$57.8M REVENUES

Charges for Services

$57.8M

Fines, Fees & Forfeitures EXPENSES

Parks, Recreation & Cultu Economic Development Debt Service

Other Community Developmen Interest Income & Investment Return Transfers In

Transfers Out

Public Safety & Law Enforcement Intergovernmental Revenue Public Safety & Law Enforcement Licenses, Permits & Franchise Fees Government AdministrationAdministration Licenses, Permits & Franchise Fees General General Government Property Tax Tax Property Public Works Public Works Sales Tax Sal es Tax Parks, Recreation, & Culture & Culture Parks, Recreation Charges for Services Charges for Services Economic Development Economic Development Fines, Fees & Forfeitures Fines, Fees & Forfeitures Debt Service Debt Service Other Other Community Development Interest Income & Investment Return Interest Income & Investment Return Community Development Transfers Out Out Transfers Transfers In In Transfers Sale Capital Assets Assets Sal eof of Capital Proceeds from from Issuance of Debt Proceeds Issuance of Debt Intergovernmental Revenue

Project grants received totaling over $26 Million American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

38

BIDS/RFPS/RFQS

RELEASED

Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Dominion Energy Duke Energy Federal Emergency Management Agency Palmetto Pride State of South Carolina South Carolina Parks, Recreation, & Tourism South Carolina Rural Infrastructure

Annual Report | City of Sumter, SC

Growth & Development

40

40 New Businesses and/or renovations to existing buisnesses in 2021.

Managin * ga s e d

Average rating in South Carolina is 4.5

l Buildin

Façade Grants provided to three downtown businesses to help preserve the historic Central Business District.

CLASS 3

l and Co

3

ISO

m m

Million

ntia de

$204

rcing R o f n E es d n i

g C o

Total construction investment in Sumter for the year was over

cia er

$

13

2 5 288

Tarp Programs •

CLEMSON EXTENSION

•

GREATER SUMTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

•

KEEP SUMTER BEAUTIFUL

Hours of community

•

PALMETTO PRIDE

•

SUMTER COUNTY GOVERNMENT

service issued

•

SUMTER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

through courts

•

BUSINESSES

•

MILITARY

•

ORGANIZATIONS

•

AND ALL VOLUNTEERS!

Community Cleanup Days

1,300 122,190

Volunteers

lbs. total (bags, tires, tvs, mattresses, and more)

Annual Report | City of Sumter, SC

SUMTER’S FIRST LITTER ADVISORY BOARD A joint City-County Sumter Litter Advisory Board was created mid-year to help promote anti-litter initiatives and assist with educating residents on the negative effects of litter on a community.

The Board, made up of both city and county residents and various organizations, meets every two months to discuss issues, explore avenues and recommend solutions for better outreach into the Sumter community.

For more on the Sumter Litter Advisory Board, visit:

www.sumterlitteradvisoryboard.com and follow @SumterLitterAdivsoryBoard on Facebook and Instagram.

15

Utilities The City of Sumter offers several utilities, including water, sewer, trash collection, and stormwater management.

We created a new program to focus on growing concerns of sewer line blockages with fats, oils, and grease, causing drainage issues and equipment malfunctions.

4,622,690,000

Number of gallons of drinking water consumed.

4,103,610,000 Number of gallons of wastewater collected, treated, and discharged.

27,572 Total customers.

Q

What is Poconite?

A

Poconite is a slow-release, organic soil enhancer that is excellent for use on flowers, lawns and trees. It is a recycled by-product from our wastewater system. It can also be useful as a deer repellent. The City produced over 1,300 tons last year, all of which was shipped to Florida for multiple agricultural uses.

Q

Why does my water turn brown or red sometimes?

Q

Does the City recycle?

A

Q

Did you know that you can choose to round up your utility bill to the closest dollar?

A

It’s naturally occurring iron

Yes, more than 312 tons (624,000

Roundup is a program that relies on

deposits that enter through the

lbs.) last year. The recycling

customers to help other residents

pumping process. Most times,

program is a loss leader for the

that need financial assistance to

if you run your water for 5-10

City. This means we have to keep

help pay their water invoice. The

minutes, it clears on its own.

our recycling in local storage until

program is administered by Sumter

However, if you experience the

certain amounts have accumulated,

United Ministries and raised over

issue for longer, call (803) 436-

and then we pay a third party

$9,400 last year. To sign up, check

2558 to report your physical

vendor to pick it up for their use

the box on the back of your printed

address. This phone line is

or to distribute to additional third

bill or call (803) 436-2241 and tell

answered 24 hours a day.

party vendor programs. Each type

customer service that you want to

of recyclable has its own rules and

“round up” your bill.

timeline - no one type is alike.

A

17

Awards & Accolades

BCEGS

CLASS 3

18

What’s Next in the City?

Projects already underway: •

Litter Cleanup Initiatives

•

Palmetto Tennis Center Phase 2 - Clay Courts

•

Crosswell Park Expansion

•

Shot Pouch Greenway

•

Streetscapes: • North Main Street (from US Hwy 378 Bypass to Calhoun Street) •

Manning Avenue (from Oakland Avenue to US Hwy 15 S)

• Manning Avenue Bridge • Washington Street Intersections Downtown

Projects up and coming: • Birnie Park Expansion • Military Museum • Additional Public Art Projects • South Sumter Gym and Park Enhancements • Sumter Opera House Expansion • Swan Lake Trail Expansion and Other Improvements

@sumtersc @cityofsumter @cityofsumter @cityofsumter @cityofsumter @cityofsumter

(803) 436-2500 cityofsumter@sumtersc.gov www.sumtersc.gov