For nearly four years, I’ve had the honor of serving on Mount Pleasant Town Council. During that time, I’ve learned just how challenging it can be to deliver real change. As chair of the HR Committee, it took nearly two years of persistence to finally complete a comprehensive compensation study.
When those results came back, they were impossible to ignore: our police officers and firefighters — the very people who keep our citizens, homes, and businesses safe — are underpaid compared to their peers across South Carolina.
That’s not acceptable. And the numbers prove it. In 2019, Mount Pleasant was ranked the #2 safest city in South Carolina. Today, we’ve slipped to #8. That decline should alarm every resident, and it’s a wake-up call that we must act now to protect our community.
Putting Safety First
I’ve always believed that citizen safety and first responder support must come first. I am fiscally responsible, but I will never put penny-pinching above protecting lives. If we want Mount Pleasant to remain the best place to raise a family, start a business, and invest in property, we must ensure the people who protect us are supported and compensated fairly.
Cutting Waste, Not Services
The compensation study didn’t just reveal pay gaps. It also showed me where our spending priorities are out of balance. We’ve allowed administrative overhead to grow while shortchanging the frontline. That must change.
Here are steps we can take immediately:
- Cut administrative travel, memberships, and training by 50%.
- Freeze or delay non-critical administrative hires.
- Tighten consultant and outside legal spending.
- Reevaluate contingency funds, marketing, and discretionary programs.
Together, these cuts free up over $500,000 annually. That’s money we can redirect straight to first responders instead of bureaucracy — and any savings beyond that should be returned to taxpayers.
Protecting Taxpayers from Costly Lawsuits
We must also learn from past mistakes. Take the Shem Creek parking garage fiasco. In 2013, the Town signed a contract obligating taxpayers to $185,000 in annual rent for garage spaces. When Council later rejected a revised deal, the developers sued.
The result?
- A $2.6 million judgment against the Town.
- $298,965 in legal fees tacked on in 2021.
- More than $1.2 million in interest accrued as of this year, with rates as high as 12.5%.
That means taxpayers are now carrying a liability of nearly $3.8 million and growing by about $27,000 every month in interest.
That’s money gone — money that should have gone into paying police officers, firefighters, roads, and community improvements.
Committees of the Whole
How do we prevent mistakes like this? By making sure all council members — not just a few — are at the table for the big decisions.
That’s why I’m calling for committees of the whole in these four critical areas:
- PJL (Police, Judicial & Legal)
- Fire
- Planning
- Finance
These are the committees where one bad decision can cost taxpayers millions or put public safety at risk. We were not elected to sit on the sidelines; we were elected to debate, decide, and be accountable in full view of the public.
Addressing the Critics
Some may say, “You’ve been on council for four years, what have you been doing?” Here’s the truth: like Councilman Gary Santos, I’ve been placed on the fewest committee assignments of any council member — chosen by the mayor, not me. And it’s in committee where much of the citizens’ work gets done.
Even with those limitations, I pushed as HR Chair to get the compensation study completed — and after nearly two years, we finally have the facts in hand. Those facts are a wake-up call: our first responders are underpaid, our priorities are out of balance, and our citizens deserve better.
That’s why I’m pushing for committees of the whole — because the public deserves all nine elected council members engaged on issues of safety, finances, planning, and legal exposure.
A New Direction
So yes, I’ve voted for past budgets. But leadership means adjusting course when new facts come in. The compensation study was a wake-up call. The Shem Creek lawsuit is a warning. Together, they show us what’s at stake: if we don’t shift our priorities, we risk both public safety and fiscal health.
My commitment is simple:
- Cut the waste.
- Pay our first responders fairly.
- Keep our citizens, homes, and businesses safe.
- And return the rest to taxpayers’ pockets where it belongs.
Mount Pleasant is a great town. But to stay that way, we must make smarter choices.
