This Week In Landrum……
This Week in Landrum
From the City Administrator’s Office — Monday, May 18, 2026
A Note from the Administrator
Last Tuesday night was, in quiet ways, one of the more consequential Council meetings the city has had in some time — and much of what made it consequential will not show up in a headline. Council adopted Landrum’s first comprehensive Procurement Policy. Council formally ratified four law enforcement mutual aid agreements between the Landrum Police Department and four neighboring agencies. Council received the completed Compensation and Classification Study, the first of its kind in recent memory. Council recognized Camille Corn on her retirement, swore in two new police officers, and proclaimed May as Building Safety Month. None of those items, taken individually, will reshape Landrum overnight. Taken together, they are the foundational kind of work that determines whether the next five or ten years of City government run cleanly or messily.
The thread that connects every one of those items — and that connects much of what we have written about in this newsletter all year — is the city’s budget. The budget is where the City’s values become specific. It is where every commitment this Council makes to residents gets translated into a dollar figure, a position, a project, or a service. The Procurement Policy is the framework that protects how those dollars are spent. The Compensation and Classification Study is the foundation for how positions are paid. The mutual aid agreements are how a small Police Department leverages its limited budget against a much larger regional network of resources. The roles, responsibilities, and expectations we keep coming back to are made operational through the lines in the budget.
For the next five weeks, the FY 2027 budget will be the primary focus of City Hall. The Budget Presentation Workshop and Public Hearing are set for Tuesday, June 9, and final adoption is set for Tuesday, June 24. Residents are strongly encouraged to attend both. The budget is a public document, the workshop is a public conversation, and the hearing exists specifically so that residents have an opportunity to weigh in before Council acts. Consistent with our new packet timing standard, the proposed budget will be posted with the agenda packet a full week before the June 9 meeting.
I also want to mark, with appropriate gratitude, Camille Corn’s retirement on Friday, May 15. Camille’s last day closed out a career of faithful service that anchored the City Clerk’s office through more than one transition. Her institutional knowledge, professionalism, and warmth will be deeply missed. We wish her every good thing in retirement, and we are grateful for the runway she gave April Williams to step into the work.
As a reminder, I am serving in this interim role part-time through September while continuing my law practice in Tryon. I am generally in the office at City Hall on weekday mornings.
What Happened This Week
• Tuesday, May 12 — Council work session and Regular Meeting. Council adopted the City’s first comprehensive Procurement Policy and supporting Standard Operating Procedures, ratified four law enforcement mutual aid agreements (Campobello, Tryon, Columbus, and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office), adopted a resolution recognizing the Landrum Farmers Market Board as a citizen advisory board with a long-term goal of independent nonprofit status, and authorized the disposition of surplus Police Department property. Personnel matters surrounding clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations within City Hall were discussed in Executive Session.
• Compensation and Classification Study presented. The completed Study — performed in-house after the original outside vendor cancelled — was presented at the Worksession and will inform FY 2027 budget compensation decisions and the City Administrator recruitment.
• Two new Police Officers sworn in. Officers Austin Decker and Matthew Williams took the oath of office Tuesday night. Welcome to the team.
• May 2026 proclaimed Building Safety Month. Council recognized the work of building safety and code professionals who help keep the homes, businesses, and public buildings of Landrum safe.
• Friday, May 15 — Camille Corn’s retirement. City Hall said farewell to Camille and thanked her for years of faithful service. Cards and well-wishes continue to come in and will be passed along.
• Main Street Program meetings. Staff met with the South Carolina Main Street Program and the Municipal Association of South Carolina this week — another step toward bringing Main Street resources to Landrum.
• Procurement Policy rollout began. Department-level walkthroughs of the new policy, SOPs, and forms packet started this week. The goal is for every department to be operating under the new framework by the start of FY 2027.
What We’re Working on Now
• FY 2027 Budget. Final departmental refinements are underway ahead of the June 9 Budget Presentation Workshop and Public Hearing. The Compensation and Classification Study, the newly adopted Procurement Policy, and this spring’s position reclassifications all feed directly into the proposed budget.
• City Administrator recruitment. Final discussions on filling the Administrator position full-time are underway and a decision on how Council will proceed is anticipated in June.
• City Clerk transition. April Williams is stepping fully into the Deputy City Administrator and City Clerk role following Camille’s retirement, with no interruption to Council support, records management, or public-facing services.
• All-Hazards Mitigation Planning. Landrum’s own plan project remains active, and we are now coordinating in parallel with Spartanburg County on county-level mitigation planning. Both efforts position us for FEMA BRIC and HMGP funding.
• IT services evaluation. Final evaluation continues, with a recommendation now targeted for the June Council agenda.
• Saluda Grade Trail. Continued planning for what Landrum will need at the trailhead and along the corridor — safety, parking, signage, and visitor experience.
• Noise Ordinance. Continued legal review and refinement of the proposed amendments, with a follow-up work session discussion and First Reading to come in June.
• Business licensing outreach. Continued one-on-one conversations with business owners working through this year’s licensing process. We are tracking friction points and using them to refine the customer experience.
• Internal SOPs. Staff continues to move systematically through the 52 Standard Operating Procedures identified across City Clerk, Finance, HR, Council support, Planning and Zoning, Procurement, and Code Enforcement functions.
Looking Ahead
• Tuesday, May 26 — Public Hearing-School Property. Landrum City Council Chambers @ 5:30pm.
• Saturday, May 30 – Dark Corner Classic Car Show 10am-3pm
• Tuesday, June 9 — FY 2027 Budget Presentation Workshop and Public Hearing. Your chance to see the proposed budget in detail and to weigh in before Council acts.
• Tuesday, June 24 — Final FY 2027 Budget Presentation and Adoption. Council’s final action on the FY 2027 budget.
• Wednesday, May 20- Coffee with the City — Cardinal Coffee & Bistro at 9:00am
• Continued follow-up engagement on the Saluda Grade Trail. More information at saludagradetrail.org.
• Every Saturday: Landrum Farmers Market — come out and enjoy the season!
Questions or concerns? Reach us at 864.457.3000 or requests@cityoflandrumsc.com. We always want to hear from you.
Respectfully,
J.J. Sauve, Interim City Administrator
Tricia Taber, PR/Marketing Director