Kershaw County Council Recap Council RecapKershaw County, SC
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Meeting recap · June 17, 2025

Council passes the FY 2025-2026 county budget and approves an impact fee ordinance for first reading

The approved budget includes adjustments for increased insurance costs, a new HR generalist position, and a specialized detention center lieutenant role, while the impact fee ordinance moves forward to establish assessments on new development to fund parks, recreation, and municipal facility upgrades.

4 votes4 passed2 split
The vote behind the headline

FY 2025-2026 Budget Appropriation (3rd Reading): Taxes & budget

     Yes 5 · No 2
 ▸ detailsless
How they voted
✓ Derek Shoemake✓ Sammie Tucker Jr.✓ Ben Connell✓ Danny Catoe✓ Brant Tomlinson✗ Jimmy Jones✗ Russell Brazell

PASSED    For 5 · Against 2. Council adopted two amendments to the budget prior to the final vote

Votes at a glance ▸ showhide

FY 2025-2026 Budget Appropriation (3rd Reading): Taxes & budget

     Yes 5 · No 2
 ▸ detailsless
How they voted
✓ Derek Shoemake✓ Sammie Tucker Jr.✓ Ben Connell✓ Danny Catoe✓ Brant Tomlinson✗ Jimmy Jones✗ Russell Brazell

PASSED    For 5 · Against 2. Council adopted two amendments to the budget prior to the final vote

Development Impact Fees Ordinance (1st Reading): Development

     Yes 6 · No 1
 ▸ detailsless
How they voted
✓ Jimmy Jones✓ Derek Shoemake✓ Sammie Tucker Jr.✓ Ben Connell✓ Danny Catoe✓ Brant Tomlinson✗ Russell Brazell

PASSED    For 6 · Against 1. This ordinance establishes development impact fees for unincorporated areas and adopts a capital improvements plan

Zoning and Land Development Regulations Amendment (1st Reading): Development ▸ detailsless

How they voted
✗ Jimmy Jones• Russell Brazell · not recorded• Derek Shoemake · not recorded• Sammie Tucker Jr. · not recorded• Ben Connell · not recorded• Danny Catoe · not recorded• Brant Tomlinson · not recorded
The meeting video didn't make clear how the members in grey voted; their votes fill in automatically once the county posts the official minutes.

DEFERRED 6-1. Council deferred this item to July 22, 2025, to allow time for additional due diligence regarding commercial and rural event venue definitions

Kershaw County Library and Department on Aging MOA (2nd Reading): Parks & rec

   Unanimous · 7-0
 ▸ detailsless
How they voted - unanimous
✓ Russell Brazell✓ Jimmy Jones✓ Derek Shoemake✓ Sammie Tucker Jr.✓ Ben Connell✓ Danny Catoe✓ Brant Tomlinson

PASSED (Unanimous). This agreement provides office space at the Camden Library for a dementia care specialist

Contingency Fee Representation Agreement for Food Litigation:

   Yes 5 · No 0
 ▸ detailsless
How they voted - unanimous
• Russell Brazell · not recorded• Jimmy Jones · not recorded• Derek Shoemake · not recorded• Sammie Tucker Jr. · not recorded• Ben Connell · not recorded• Danny Catoe · not recorded• Brant Tomlinson · not recorded
The meeting video didn't make clear how the members in grey voted; their votes fill in automatically once the county posts the official minutes.

PASSED  For 5 · Against 0 (J. Jones and R. Brazell absent). Council authorized retention of counsel to pursue potential claims against manufacturers of ultra-processed foods

Discussed, no vote ▸ showhide
  • EMS Resolution: Council unanimously passed a resolution commemorating 10 years of service by the Kershaw County Emergency Medical Service.
  • Agenda Amendments: Council formally approved amendments to the agenda to include the FY26 budget public hearing and to defer property sales and intergovernmental judicial agreements.
Public comment ▸ showhide

Residents voiced concerns regarding unchecked growth, the need for clarity on rural event venue ordinances, and persistent storm water and infrastructure maintenance issues within the Pecan Orchard neighborhood.

Another resident thanked the council for their balanced approach to evaluating growth and local economic impacts of new subdivisions.

Coming up ▸ showhide
  • July 8, 2025: Next regularly scheduled Council meeting.
  • July 22, 2025: Rescheduled first reading for the ZLDR/Event Venue ordinance; reporting on potential funding solutions for Pecan Orchard infrastructure.

Independent summary, generated from the county's public video, not an official county communication.

How this recap was made: Prepared from the meeting's live-stream transcript and the official agenda packet. The county's official minutes (the verified vote record) will be cross-checked automatically once the county publishes them, often a couple of months later. This is an automated summary written by software (a neural-network summarizer working from the documents above). Rely on the official county record for anything important.