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Resident urges city action on homelessness and litter; city manager outlines programs
Summary
A Florence resident told City Council he sees panhandling and widespread litter; City Manager Scottie described the city’s programs for homelessness assistance and litter abatement and said the city partners with Keep Florence Beautiful and neighborhood associations.
John Cox, a resident, raised two concerns during the public-comment portion of the Florence City Council meeting: visible panhandling by people he identified as homeless and widespread litter across the city, particularly along Irby Street and other major corridors.
Cox said, “I see them out pandering on public property,” and added that litter “makes the city look bad” and is “embarrassing” in a community he called “beautiful.”
City Manager Scottie (first name not given in the meeting) responded with an overview of the city’s current efforts. He said the city budgets $75,000 to a homelessness assistance program that helps connect unsheltered individuals to shelter and other services, and described field efforts by Florence police to transport people to shelters when appropriate. On litter, Scottie said the city provides $10,000 annually to Keep Florence Beautiful and staffs two employees whose responsibilities include targeted litter pickup and coordination of cleanups.
Scottie described operational limits for sanitation crews and explained that the sanitation department focuses on scheduled household pickups—“they’re picking up about 500 to 700 households per day”—so special litter locations are handled by the two dedicated staff members and by partnerships with neighborhood associations. He said the city operates cameras at frequent dumping sites to deter illegal dumping and that there are about “30 plus neighborhood associations” that work with the city on cleanups.
Councilmembers and staff clarified other responses: fines for litter had been increased a few years earlier; enforcement can be reported through the city’s codes office; and the city’s jurisdictional limits complicate enforcement in places where city and county boundaries intersect. A phone number for reporting issues was given in the meeting as (843) 665-3113.
Nut graf: The exchange highlighted resident frustration about litter and street-level homelessness and the city’s reliance on a mix of funded partner organizations, code enforcement, police referrals to shelters and volunteer neighborhood cleanups rather than new enforcement sweeps or criminalization efforts.
Councilmembers and staff also pointed residents to a forthcoming Keep Florence Beautiful event in April and explained how residents or neighborhood associations can sign up for cleanups via that organization’s website or by calling the city’s number. No formal direction to create new ordinances or major program changes was made during the meeting; staff described current practice and available supports.
