“We’re not expecting them to go out and be the cash cow of Kershaw County,” said Kershaw County Councilman Tom Gardner at council’s meeting Tuesday, referring to the Kershaw County Sheriff Office’s (KCSO) traffic enforcement unit.
Gardner spoke for several minutes on the traffic unit, noting that the program is “solvent” despite concerns over a budget discrepancy uncovered by council members during an April 5 budgetary workshop.

Gardner said the unit is making money, but also explained turning a profit shouldn’t be the main concern for county law enforcement.

“The good news is that it’s supporting itself, but it’s doing a lot more than that. I commend the sheriff and those deputies. I commend the magistrate’s office for all that they do. I think Kershaw County is a safer place because of the traffic unit,” Gardner said. “I think Kershaw County citizens are really becoming aware that we have a traffic unit. They’re slowing down, which makes everything safer. It’s safer for pedestrians and safer for the other drivers.”

Chairman Gene Wise noted a variance in the traffic unit’s revenues and expenditures during the April 5 workshop and created an ad-hoc committee to investigate the discrepancy.

The committee -- comprised of Wise, Gardner and County Administrator Vic Carpenter -- met April 20 with Chief Magistrate Rick Todd, Sheriff Jim Matthews and traffic unit commander Sgt. Scott Myers, to discuss the program’s budget.

Wise said Todd was quite effective in outlining the traffic unit’s overall return on investment.

“I can’t tell you how impressed I was. I’ve been an executive in private business for 44 years and I saw a presentation by Chief Magistrate Rick Todd that was as professional as I’ve ever seen,” Wise said. “I’d like to recognize him for that and his staff for putting that together.”

Wise noted that the committee examined more than a month’s worth of citations to reach its conclusion. He said the group focused on statistics from March 2012.

The traffic unit cost approximately $350,000 to operate during the current fiscal year. Gardner said that price tag should drop in the coming fiscal year since it would not include the expense of purchasing new vehicles when the traffic unit began operations.

In a follow-up interview Wednesday, Carpenter said he believed the operating cost should fall to between $260,000 and $280,000, adding he would have a clearer picture of the program’s budgetary outlook when council holds its next budget workshop. Carpenter is set to lead another workshop May 1 at 4 p.m. in the Kershaw County Government Center.
Councilman Jimmy Jones voiced concerns about the ad-hoc committee Tuesday, saying he did not know council would be discussing the group’s findings during the meeting.

“I feel somewhat duped to a certain degree. I had questions that I wanted to ask. I made a promise to the citizens of Kershaw County. If it is not revenue neutral, I will not support it. If we need to go back and make cuts, I will support making those cuts. I will live up to my word,” Jones said.

Jones explained Wednesday that he felt “blind-sided” by the discussion, noting that it came at the very end of Tuesday’s meeting during Gardner’s and Wise’s allotted council briefing times.

Following Gardner’s report on the traffic unit, Wise asked for Carpenter’s and County Attorney Ken DuBose’s briefings. Wise then entertained a motion to adjourn. Councilman Bobby Gary called for the motion, seconded by Gardner. When Wise asked for any discussion on the adjournment motion, Jones said he had several questions about specific traffic unit figures. Councilman Stephen Smoak, however, called for a point of order, which would have concluded the discussion and ended the meeting.

“I was recognized!” Jones called out.

“Hold on,” Smoak continued “the meeting is over, essentially. We will have an opportunity to discuss the sheriff’s budget at several later dates. There is nowhere on the agenda that allows us to have this discussion at this time.”

“I was recognized by the chairman, Mr. Smoak. Your point of order is out of order,” Jones declared

“I made the point of order and the chair gets to rule on the point of order,” Smoak replied.

Wise allowed Jones to continue.

“He’s asking Mr. Carpenter a question,” Wise said. “I don’t know if Mr. Carpenter can answer that question at this meeting. Is it OK if he answers that at a later time?”

Jones agreed with Wise’s suggestion, indicating specifics could be provided a later date. Jones also reiterated that he wanted to know if council was living up to its commitment to have the traffic unit operating within a balanced budget.

“I said it had to be self-supported,” Jones said. “Also, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to speak. I was just a little bit upset, or disturbed, that the report was given, and I had no idea that we were going to talk about it. I was glad to hear the information. I think you guys did a great job. I just want to make sure we’re not looking at any increases in our budget to support it.”

Wise said he didn’t believe there would be any increases for the budget and that county staff could provide him with the information discussed during the ad-hoc committee meeting.

Wednesday, Smoak said he never believed the traffic unit had to “pay for itself.”

“It’s either good or it’s not. I think it’s been successful,” Smoak said. “Law enforcement is not required to pay for itself. It’s a basic service provided to the citizens.”