Olanta begins review of ordinances

OLANTA — Olanta Town Council is reviewing a newly compiled list of the town’s ordinances, some of which had been maintained on the original paper they were typed onto in the 1940s or earlier.

Council members gathered June 30 to examine 15 of the 21 chapters of town ordinances. They focused mainly on whether the documents were in numerical order and corresponded with the table of contents.

If any numbered ordinances are missing from the list, council members said they will determine whether the ordinances in question have been repealed or improperly numbered.

Council first discussed the need to review the town’s ordinances at a meeting earlier last month because of the age and deteriorated condition of some ordinance documents, which are protected in plastic sleeves within a binder at the town hall.

Council members also decided last month to ask town attorney Jim Peterson of Florence to develop an ordinance that would create a separate account for funds raised through a recent $4 water-rate increase.

That money would go toward reducing debt since Olanta has made $21,000 to $24,000 in repairs to a main water tank, and it would also help the town repay a $43,000 tax anticipation note from The Citizens Bank.

The remaining $2 of the increase, meanwhile, could be placed in the town’s sewer reserve fund, where it would be used only in case of an emergency, Mayor Betty Sims said June 24.

Council members said the town needs to enact such an ordinance because the rate increase was included on the most recent water bills the town has mailed.