How Sumter is run
Who runs Sumter, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Sumter's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Sumter
Sumter has a council-manager government. The mayor and six council members pass ordinances, adopt the budget and hire the city manager. City Manager Deron McCormick runs daily operations and appoints department directors.
What they are paid
Sumter city staff
620 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 148, City-county police 34, Fire 102, Sanitation 41. FY2024-25. Full-time equivalents. Part-time employees count as half. City of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
The budget shows salary totals by department and the audit lists staff counts. The city does not publish individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Sumter in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $23.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The audit says the city has a fund balance policy but does not state its target. Unassigned fund balance was 33 percent of general fund expenditures. City of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Property taxes$19.7M · 35%
- Business licenses$8.3M · 15%
- Transfers in from other funds$4.7M · 8%
- Sumter County share of fire service$4M · 7%
- Franchise fees$3.8M · 7%
- Other financing sources$3.1M · 5%
- Container rental and user charges$2.7M · 5%
- Sanitation fees$2.3M · 4%
- Other$8.3M · 15%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Police$13.6M · 24%
- Fire$10.6M · 19%
- Sanitation$5.6M · 10%
- Citywide costs (insurance, contracts, contingency)$3.9M · 7%
- City-county joint police costs$3.6M · 6%
- Administration$3.4M · 6%
- Public works maintenance$2.8M · 5%
- Parks$1.7M · 3%
- Other$11.7M · 21%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Rates are in mills, dollars per $1,000 of assessed value. Schools take the largest share. The city's own rate rose to 112 mills for FY2025-26.
24¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Sumter
- City of SumterOperating 104, debt 3107 · 24%
- Sumter County113.9 · 26%
- Sumter County School District219.4 · 50%
- Total (mills)440.3
FY2024-25 rates for property in the City of Sumter (Sumter County). City of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Sumter is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySumter Police DepartmentCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- FireThe citySumter Fire DepartmentCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of SumterCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of SumterCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of SumterCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of SumterCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
- StormwaterThe cityCity of SumterCity of Sumter · Dec 16, 2025
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | GreenwoodSC | Hilton Head IslandSC | FlorenceSC | SumterSC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 22,745 | 38,196 | 41,231 | 43,094 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2022) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $23,345 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,017 | $1,771 | $1,363 | $1,321 |
| Debt per resident | $40 | $1,889 | $5,172 | $978 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $541 | $469 | $1,020 | $1,113 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 7.8 | 14.3 | 14.4 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Hilton Head Island pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Sumter publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Sumter
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract or salary for City Manager Deron McCormick on the city website or in the budget. City of Sumter
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe council meetings page posts no minutes or vote records we could read. Monthly council news summarizes what passed. City of Sumter
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe posted budget has no separate line for mayor and council pay, and we found no pay ordinance online. City of Sumter · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- In FY2024-25 general fund spending was $2.7 million more than revenue, yet fund balance rose $4,136,256 after transfers and lease financing. What target does the city's fund balance policy set for the $23.8 million unassigned balance?
- The city's share of statewide pension shortfalls was $48.0 million on June 30, 2025. How does the budget plan for rising contribution rates?
- The FY2026-27 budget was approved in June 2026 but the latest posted budget is FY2025-26. When will the city post it, along with council pay and the city manager's contract?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Departments send requests to the City Manager each spring, and the council holds a public hearing and adopts the budget by June 30. For FY2026-27 the hearing was in May 2026 and the budget was approved in June 2026. See who is running for council
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