“Could you believe all of the people?” she exclaimed, adding that she wished there were a way to get a firm head count of the number of attendees, but acknowledging that it was not possible.
“Well, we know one thing for sure,” responded Councilman Jones with a smile, “how ever many people we had, they went through 10,000 pounds of pork, and that’s a lot.”
Herring also revealed that she had spoken with several shop owners who had particularly good sales days, and that the influx of traffic had been a healthy boost to the small town’s economy.
In other Pig on the Ridge news, Council heard the yearly report from the town’s auditor Howard Nichols who recommended that festival expenditures be processed differently.
Currently, expenses and income for the festival, which receives no town funding, are routed through the clerk’s office, and Nichols advised Council to require an invoice or “voucher” before any payments are made.
His other recommendations were the same as the previous years’, and common to many small towns, relating to internal controls of the town’s accounting, but otherwise he concluded that “you had a very good year… Ridgeway is very financially sound, with no long-term debt.”
Councilman Robert Hartman requested that Nichols provide Council with a report on the “day-to-day” status of the town’s finances, since the total yearly budget included the funds from the insurance claim on the damage done to the old school auditorium and is technically classified as a town asset that was sold, as well as several grants for ongoing projects to expand town water service.
“We had deficit spending for so many years, but thankfully we always had savings to draw on,” HArtman said. “I just want to know what that bottom line is.”
Mayor Herring pointed out that one of the purposes of the water projects had been for long-term income for the town and would keep Ridgeway from depending financially on revenue from speeding tickets. It was also mentioned that a large portion of the money generated by speed enforcement goes back to the South Carolina state government, and that Ridgeway only keeps about one-third of that revenue in its budget.
In fact, revenue from the “fines and fees” portion of the budget was projected to be even lower than last year’s, less than 20 percent of the town’s total budget, despite the fact that Ridgeway is no longer without a full-time police officer on duty.
Officer James Ashford, who previously provided security when funding allowed for two officers, has come back on board on a 90-day trial after Council voted to terminate Chief Wayne Courtney for undisclosed reasons back in September. Councilman Rufus Jones commended Ashford after he presented his monthly report, saying “This man has gotten on board and has done everything we’ve asked him to do, and did a fine job with Pig on the Ridge.”
Ashford’s next chance to watch over a major town event will be the annual Ridgeway Christmas parade, to be held December 6 at 3 p.m. Councilman Prioleau indicated that it will be as grand as ever, with more than 50 entries, and more large floats than previous years.
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