By Dave Munday
The Post and Courier
LINCOLNVILLE, S.C. — The financially struggling town has about two weeks to come up with an $11,000 insurance payment to keep its firetrucks rolling.
The S.C. Insurance Reserve Fund, which covers the town, sent a letter saying the policy would be canceled unless the $28,498 bill was paid within 30 days of Aug. 25. Then the deadline was extended until the end of the month.
Mayor Tyrone Aiken last week learned he could pay the bill in installments but declined to say how much was due now.
The first payment of $11,000 is due by the end of the month, Michael Sponhour, public affairs director for the state Budget and Control Board, which oversees the Insurance Reserve Fund, said this week.
The balance can be paid in installments, Sponhour said. Thirty-two other towns pay their insurance in installments, he said. Aiken said Wednesday the balance can be divided into two payments with a second one due in January and the last one by April 30.
A group of concerned citizens has been asking when the bill will be paid since the town received the letter threatening to cancel the policy. Fire Chief Charles Gantt said he would not let his men drive uninsured vehicles. Residents held a meeting at the fire station Sept. 27 to find out what was going on.
Aiken assured everybody the bill would be paid. He told several dozen residents who attended a council meeting last week that the bill was overdue because the town’s income has been down due to the recession, which was impossible to plan for. The town budgeted $417,000 for the fiscal year that ended in June but only collected $316,735.56.
To get out of the hole, Aiken laid off three part-time workers, including two firefighters with jobs at other fire departments, and cut the hours of three full-time workers, including Police Chief Gary Hamner. The cuts took effect Oct. 1.
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