McCutcheon prepares to focus on finances as Olanta's mayor

Jimmy McCutcheon

By Charles Tomlinson
Published: December 09, 2009

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OLANTA — Jimmy McCutcheon said he knew he’d have to be retired before he could run for the mayor’s seat in Olanta.

He served terms on the town’s council in the 1970s and 1990s, but knew the mayor’s job would be a much more demanding position, he said.

Now, after retiring as a customer development account manager with Nestle at the end of July 2008, he’s made a successful bid to become Olanta’s new mayor.

McCutcheon and newly elected town council members Tommy “Mitch” Driggers Jr. and Eric L. Evans were sworn in at noon Tuesday at the Olanta Rural Fire Department station, on S.C. 341 east of town.

As he enters office, McCutcheon said his theory on government is “transparency and openness.” His priority is the town’s day-to-day finances, he said.

“I think the financial (management) will have to be the priority because you can’t do the others without it,” he said.

His goal is to have a Web site where residents can view the town’s budget and monthly check registers as well as minutes from town council meetings, he said.

“I think that takes a lot of doubt out of government,” he said.

He hasn’t established a timeline for establishing such a site and uploading all of the information because he’s uncertain about how long it will take, he said.

He said another of his goals as mayor is to improve efficiency in the town’s police department. He wants to look at expense control in regards to everything from phone bills to gasoline purchases, he said — “just taking care of the nickels and dimes.”

He also hopes the department will establish a more random patrol schedule that will be unpredictable for “bad guys” hoping to catch onto a law enforcement routine.

McCutcheon also said he aims for the town to offer more recreational opportunities for children.

He said that his ideas so far are “outside opinions without being directly involved” and that if a policy is working for the town, it should definitely continue.

McCutcheon also hopes to hold a town meeting and offer a presentation on the town’s finances once he gets his “feet on the ground,” and he plans to be straightforward with residents, he said.

“People will accept things when they know what they are,” he said. “They’ll take ownership.”