Cayce City Council Looking Out for Local Businesses… Well, Most of Them
Over the past twelve months, the residents of Cayce have been paying close attention to the votes taken by Cayce City Council. What we see is concerning.
Votes of Council in years past were often 5-0. But over the past year, or since the departure of former City Manager Tracy Hegler, there has been a notable change in the division of votes and the demeanor of our Council. It is normal for elected officials to disagree. It is normal for them to feel convicted about the votes they cast on behalf of their voters.
What is not acceptable to the people of Cayce is the way that one member of Council treats the other four. There should be a level of decorum to the disagreements, but one member of Council seems to have forgotten that.
Most recently, this discord took an even nastier turn during the debate over Accommodations Tax allocations to various entities.
Accommodations Tax, also known as “heads on beds” is funding collected from visitors staying in hotels. The state’s Department of Revenue (SCDOR) collects the state accommodations tax and then distributes it to cities and counties based on a formula related to the point of sale. The City of Cayce collects their local portion of the local accommodations tax (LAT) funding with the premise that it will be reinvested to bring more people into the city hotels, stores, and restaurants.
At the July 8, 2025, Cayce City Council meeting, the Cayce West Columbia Chamber was asked to do a presentation on how they utilize the funds allocated to them. What took place after that presentation was an embarrassment to the city and to the citizens of Cayce.
After the Chamber staff member completed their presentation, Mayor Elise Partin took it upon herself to call on her fellow sitting Councilmember, Tim James, to take the podium and answer her questions about the Chamber’s budget and to show “receipts.” (Mayor Pro Tem James is the CEO of the local Chamber and recused himself on all votes pertaining to any allocation of funding to the Chamber.) He questioned if this was proper; but Mayor Partin demanded he step to the podium to “defend his Chamber.” The video recordings are dated and loaded to the city’s website and YouTube account if you would like to see for yourself.
Robert’s Rules of Order clarifies that if a member of an assembly is expected to make a presentation or participate in a discussion at the podium, they should be informed beforehand. Forcing them to the podium is not a parliamentary procedure. Nor is it becoming of a city leader.
Now, how did we get here?
At the June 3, 2025, Council meeting, Councilmembers were asked to vote on the allocation of the roughly $44,000 of Accommodations tax funding. During this meeting, Councilman Phil Carter made the motion that the Chamber receive the allocation. He expressed concern over sending these funds to entities outside of our county. Especially when we have a Chamber that has direct ties to promoting local events, restaurants, and businesses: each of their members are local business owners. Councilman Carter’s motion passed by a vote of 3 to 1 with Mayor Pro Tem James recusing himself and Mayor Partin as the dissenting vote. Councilman Carter went on to state that there was no problem with the other entities (Experience Columbia and Lake Murray Country) that the Council has historically allocated funding to. Simply put, keeping the funding local has a more direct impact on our local businesses.
Ask yourself this: if someone is coming to the Midlands for a fishing tournament or boat tour at Lake Murray, how likely are they to drive to Cayce to stay in a hotel and eat dinner? Many concerned Cayce citizens recently pondered this and concluded that this is a ridiculous expectation. Further, there is more sense in the logic that you will stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants and shop in our stores when you come to town for the annual Christmas Parade, the Soiree on State, Rhythm on the River, and other local events.
Thank you to the members of Council that voted to keep this funding local and to allocate it to the entity with the best understanding of how to market our local businesses.
This is just one example of a mayor that has gone too far off the political gamut.
Many of us vocally supported and defended Mayor Partin in recent elections. But folks, this is not the same Mayor we voted for. It appears that she seeks to embarrass, evoke, and take below-the-belt punches at her fellow Councilmembers each time the vote does not result in the outcome she prefers. Her oddly misplaced outrage and disrespectful quipping is evident to all in almost every meeting of Council.
While Council members may disagree on funding priorities, the people of Cayce deserve respectful leadership focused on unity and the best interests of our community.
Submitted by:
Concerned Cayce Citizens
