NEWBERRY COUNTY — On Nov. 3, voters will have a decision to make in the Newberry County Council District Five election. Incumbent Harriett Rucker (Democrat) faces challenger Les Hipp (Republican).
The following questions were submitted to each candidate via email. Answers have been minimally edited for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
1. What will your top priority be as the District Five County Council representative?
Rucker: “Public safety – law enforcement, firefighting, and rescue squads included – is my top priority. We cannot have a high quality of life without having public safety as our first building block. I sit on the Public Safety Committee and it has been very eye-opening to me in my first term. Expenditures made in support of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and rescue squad members are some of the most cost-effective expenditures we can make.
“I was pleased to initiate the pay raise in the current Council budget that makes out law enforcement salaries competitive with event the larger counties that surround us and compete with us for labor. It was the single biggest salary increase in law enforcement pay in the modern era of Newberry County. It helped us fill critical vacancies and retain qualified people. But we need to do more. The hiring of law enforcement officers is extremely competitive, and we could easily fall behind again unless we are deliberate. We can’t go cheap on this; we need them more than ever.
“We recently designated a firefighter training ground for Newberry County (the old fairgrounds); now we have to fully fund the equipment needed to finish it out. Firefighters undergo an extraordinary amount of training to become certified. The more training we can provide locally, the more likely we are to continue having excellent volunteer participation. We also have to attract the next generation of firefighters. Improved training is one way to do that. The amount of money volunteer firefighters save this county is staggering. This needs to be realized and fully appreciated. A partnership with the City of Newberry is essential to maximizing the economies of being fully equipped and prepared.
“A county with an area the size of Newberry County, and with the interstate traffic we have, also needs robust rescue squads. Our paid EMS system runs four ambulances in the daytime, but only three at night. At night the volunteer rescue squads fill in to shorten response times on ambulance calls, and they first respond to a number of emergencies. Rescue squads respond during the daytime, as well, especially when the paid ambulance service is tied up on calls. The volunteer rescue squads save us hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. But more importantly, they save us critical minutes in life-threatening emergencies.”
Hipp: “First, I want to thank The Observer for allowing me and my opponent this opportunity to define our platforms and for giving the readers this opportunity to judge the platform that best represents them.
“My top priority will be a respectful voice on county government for all the citizens of Newberry County. I will be a voice of leadership, not someone who will just “get along.” Leadership often means that one must take a difficult position that differs from the pack; being a “yes” person may make someone popular, but in a leadership role, often results in them being ineffective. And make no mistake about it, County Council is a job of leadership, not an honorary position with a title. I will treat all citizens who speak up at Council meetings with respect and not resort to disrespectful comments if a citizen voices an opinion with which I don’t agree. This year’s proposed budget was not viewable on the County’s website until after public comment period had passed. I would work to have all proposed budgets and ordinances posted prior to public comments; after all, it is unreasonable to expect the public to comment on an ordinance that hasn’t been made public. I would also like to have all County Council meetings streamed so that the citizens would have an opportunity to sit in the comfort of their homes and oversee the quality of work being provided by their elected employees. In summary, my top priority is to serve with integrity and respect and to provide results, not promises.”
2. What type of growth would you like to see in Newberry County in the next four years?
Rucker: “We need better grocery shopping, for sure – better product selection, shorter checkout lines and more modern grocery stores.
“But, of course, the larger matter of growth is a lot more complicated than just grocery shopping. We need to be careful with the kind and volume of growth we attract, whether we’re talking about residential, industrial, or retail development. The ideal growth provides a positive revenue stream; it pays for itself. But we need to focus on the growth that increases disposable incomes, in order to truly benefit our downtown retail, our schools, and our neighborhoods, and to ensure future job opportunities for our children and grandchildren.
“The focus needs to be on raising wages above our current average. That comes from attracting the right kind of industrial growth. Large companies such as Samsung are important because they offer the future potential for skilled supplier jobs, particularly as their footprint expands here. Currently, we have about 600 acres of property available to accommodate suppliers, expansions, and new industries. The land and infrastructure necessary to accommodate industry is expensive and its use needs to be targeted to development that maximizes improvements to our economy. Some believe (correctly) that we can now be selective in the industry we attract, because we have become a hub of manufacturing in the Midlands region of South Carolinas. I would add to that my strong belief that not being selective in this context would be wasteful of our land and infrastructure resources.
“There is probably more interest now than at anytime among developers wanting to construct housing in Newberry County. That is one reason we have begun preparing our planning department for more specialized tasks pertaining to residential development by adding contracted engineering firms and a development consultant. Contracting this increased expertise allows us to scale personnel costs to the actual pace of development without committing too soon to fixed, expensive personnel costs. Our planning resources will be challenged in the very near future to manage traffic and development patterns in ways that preserve the life we all enjoy. I am committed to providing the up-front resources needed to ensure the right kind of development. If we don’t, we will become victims of change we don’t necessarily want.”
Hipp: “I would do more than wish for growth; I would work to ensure growth. There are many forms of growth: 1) economic growth, 2) population growth, and 3) growth of services, just to name a few.
“Economic Growth: I would not limit county economic growth to just new industries. Economic growth means protecting our existing businesses from failure as much as soliciting new industries. The existing businesses in our county seem to be left out of tax benefits and incentives. I asked a question of County Council during public comment on this year’s budget if anything had been factored into the budget to assist small and existing businesses that had been hurt by the pandemic. I was told nothing on the county level had been done; that was a federal government issue. Assisting existing businesses is a local issue if the county government chooses to make it a local issue! Also, bringing in new retail businesses which will improve our quality of life will be a priority of mine if elected.
“Population Growth: We need additional housing to entice wage earners to locate in Newberry, rather than live elsewhere and commute here to work. And we need to enhance the quality of jobs to offer our children opportunities so that they don’t have to leave Newberry for quality employment.
“Services Growth: I would work to combine the resources of municipalities and county government to collaborate on mutually beneficial projects and services, thereby efficiently improving services and eliminating waste.”
3. Do you feel there are any local budget or tax policies that should be addressed?
Rucker: “We need to continue reducing property taxes. We have a ways to go with this, but we are finally moving in the right direction. The property tax levies controlled by County Council are at a 15-year low. We were once amongst the highest taxing counties in the state, but now our County Council levies and fees are 24th highest among the 46 counties. We should strive to move toward the bottom third of all counties in this state on council-determined fees and property taxes. (Municipalities and the school board are autonomous; County Council does not determine their tax rates.) But we cannot do that at the expense of law enforcement and public safety.
“As we grow – and there is already considerable growth on the horizon – we will have to strike a balance between using increased revenue to optimize service and using it to reduce the tax burden. If we are careful, we can move forward by investing in services that improve our quality of life and provide obvious economies while still keeping our recent focus on reducing the tax millage.
“Shortchanging basics such as law enforcement, volunteer firefighters, and rescue squads, for instance, sometimes seems enticing. But this strategy ends up being so costly in the long run. If we aren’t careful we end up paying overtime due to unfilled law enforcement positions; we develop an over-reliance on paid firefighting by killing our volunteer system; and we have to staff more paid ambulance personnel because we lose the peak-time flexibility that our rescue squads give us. We have to avoid falling for these seductive false economies.”
Hipp: “Property taxes have gone up during the past four years. If you need verification, look at your tax payments over the past four years. Are people really concerned about the value of a mil or do they care about how much they paid in real dollars? I want to divert the additional revenue generated from the industrial tax base back to the people in terms of a real tax reduction, not just an insignificant amount offered during an election year to minimally appease a campaign promise made years earlier. We brought a huge industry into Newberry in the last four years; but where did the additional tax revenue go? Was it returned to the citizens in the form of significant tax reductions? The county has increased spending from $23,905,867 per year to $26,676,566 per year over the past four years. That rate of spending is an average increase of $692,674 per year. During my previous years on County Council, the spending went from $22,351,009 per year to $23,905,867 per year over eight years for an average increase of $194,357 per year. County spending in the last four years is increasing at a rate of over 300 percent per year higher than during my eight previous years in office. My first action if elected is to sponsor an ordinance that would limit (Newberry) County Government spending increases to the Consumer Price Index and any revenue received above the CPI would be returned to taxpayers in the form of tax reductions or rebates.”
Final Statement: What is one thing voters should know about why you are running for office?
Rucker: “I am just finishing my first term on County Council, but my entire life has been about public service, including service to the public education system, my church, and community organizations. Where Newberry County is concerned, it is safe to say that I am, and always have been, fully engaged. Public service is well suited to my lifestyle and my values. I cannot imagine living my life apart from the values that have inspired me to public service. I than the citizens of Newberry County and County Council District Five for the opportunity to serve them.”
Hipp: “I am running because I have a deep love of my country, my state and my county. I am a Republican who believes in legal immigration, The Second Amendment, law and order, and above all, the Almighty God! I believe that all peoples’ lives matter, regardless of skin color, national origin, sexual preference, religious preference or any other differences. I believe in the right of people to peaceably protest as protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I believe in fully funding our police and emergency services. My opponent and all current Council members voted unanimously to increase salaries of law enforcement in Newberry County and I agree and applaud this action. Had I been in office at the time, I would have voted likewise.
“Plato said many centuries ago that if you don’t participate in government then you will be ruled by those less competent; and that is true now more than ever. As a retired engineer and manager in the nuclear power industry, I want to bring my problem-solving experience to county government. I want to be a hard-working employee of all the people of Newberry County! Thank you for your consideration and your vote.”
Reach Andrew Wigger @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.