Anson County commissioners approve college budget, $1,000 petition fee and to seek lobbying help

The Anson County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 approved several routine motions, including the county portion of South Piedmont Community College’s FY2026 budget, adopted a new public petition fee of $1,000 and authorized a request for qualifications for a lobbying firm.

The board approved the college budget after Michelle Brock of South Piedmont Community College told commissioners the county share for fiscal 2026 is $851,333, “about a little over 5% decline from the previous year” and a decrease of $45,902 from FY2025. Commissioner Woodburn moved to approve the college budget; Commissioner Gatewood seconded and the motion carried.

In a separate vote, the board adopted a structured fee for public petitions to cover advertising costs for statutory petitions. Assistant Manager Addison recommended $750 to cover publication costs; after discussion Commissioner Mims moved to set the fee at $1,000 to ensure costs are covered. The motion passed.

The board approved appointments and reappointments to the ACTS advisory board, appointing Shannon Barber and Nikki Myers and reappointing Rodney Diggs and April Little.

After a closed-session discussion on economic development and contract negotiations, the board returned to public session and voted to proceed with a request for qualifications for a lobbying firm to support Anson County’s business development efforts. Commissioner Gatewood made the motion and Commissioner Woodburn seconded; the motion passed.

Other procedural actions included approval of the meeting agenda and consent items, which included DEQ-funded pump station repairs at the Lane’s Creek pump station.

The board adjourned at the end of the meeting. Future steps noted by staff include survey work and proposals related to an old hospital site and follow-up procurement steps needed to issue an RFQ for lobbying services.