Jacqueline Hough
Editor
For William Simon Jr., his adopted motto of Bennettsville being a city on the move is more than a motto but a mantra for bringing change to the city.
“I think Bennettsville is a city on the move because we are exploring new things, new ways of attracting businesses, new ways to serve our citizens,” he said.
Simon started as the new administrator on June 9.
It allowed him to work with recently retired longtime administrator Max Alderman.
He was appreciative of the time because it helped him transition into how the city does business. “It was a tremendous help,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot of support from citizens and small businesses here and from people familiar with me or are familiar with the fact that I’m from here.”
A native of Bennettsville, he is the son of William Simon Sr. and the late Bobbie Simon.
After high school, he attended South Carolina State University. He got his master’s degree from Clemson University a few years later.
“I had aspirations of becoming a city or county administrator or manager,” he said. “This is why I pursued my master’s degree. So when I saw this opportunity (to apply for city administrator), I really could not pass it up because it was my hometown.”
One thing he liked about the city was the fact that they had done a strategic plan.
“You should always do this,” he said. “It shows that you have a vision for your city.”
For Simon, it is his job to carry out that plan.
“I thought that was a great move and I do view the city as on the move when I see some of the changes that are occurring not only in the city but with Marlboro County,” he said.
He is looking forward to working with a lot of different people, agencies, and nonprofits to see how we can better serve our citizens.
He feels it is important for everyone, from the employees of the city, to the council, to the citizens of the city, to work together.
“I do want to have collaboration with not just the county but beyond,” Simon said. “I think when you’re talking about economic development, you have to look at that regionally.”
He noted city officials talk a lot about attracting businesses to our area and wanting people to move there.
“We can’t forget our citizens who are currently living here and we want them to participate in the process and we want to do all that we can to improve the quality of life for them,” Simon said.
Recently, he held a leadership retreat with all of the department heads.
A rhetorical question posed to them was what did they think when they hear Bennettsville.
“I think is important is that not only we look at the realistic situation that we’re in regarding dilapidated buildings and, and some business decline, but I do think it’s important that we look at the good things that we’re known for here as well,” he said.
Good things such as having a great small business network and great people living here, Simon said.
“We have a great police department and other departments,” he said. “I think we need to capitalize on those things and roll out a communications plan and make sure that we educate and inform others of all the great things that this city is doing.”
His goals include carrying out the vision of the mayor and city council regarding the strategic goals that they have in place.
One of his priorities is the safety and security of our citizens.
The police department has multiple vacancies and Simon said wanted to work hard with recruiting and retention of that department.
“I want to work with them to explore innovative ways of providing security to our citizens,” he said. “I want to see more community policing. I would like for them to institute a drone program so that we can do more with surveillance and other things.”
The next goal is for economic development.
“This is going to take a collaborative effort with a lot of the different organizations and agencies,” he said.
City officials are focusing on downtown revitalization, supporting small businesses, and working hard to make sure to clean up the downtown area and enhance it through facade grants, infrastructure improvements, and other ways.
“We are going to continue to attract small businesses downtown, but we want to support those who are there now,” Simon said.
A third goal is to improve the quality of life of the current citizens.
Simon noted the 2020 census showed the city lost a few citizens.
“We want to make sure that does not happen anymore. We want to do things such as enhancing our parks. We’re doing a lot with events.”
Officials are looking at having some upcoming job fairs that are not just for Bennettsville but the entire county.
City officials want to have people come in and help with assisting others with resume writing, how to do interviews, and how to dress when representing yourself looking for a job.
Simon has an open-door policy for city employees and citizens.
“I want to make sure I get to meet with all employees and department heads. Anyone at every level so that they can learn who I am and then I can learn all the things that they need so that I can support them.”
He said this applies to residents and businesses.
“I want them to know that they have a city administrator who is interested in their lives on a daily basis,” he said. “I want them to be able to come in, meet me, and share the things that they want me to know so that I can assist them in the future.”
A community Meet and Greet was held for Simon on July 19.
He was excited to be able to meet and reminisce with people.
“It was nice being able to shake the hands of those who just want to come up to me and tell me how proud they are of me,” he said. “And how they look forward to working with me and how they’re willing to provide any support necessary.”
He encouraged organizations, churches, and other groups to invite him to come to their events.
“I want to get out there and let everyone know how the city of Bennettsville can support them, and I want them to know that they have a city administrator that’s working towards that,” he said.
Simon, who is married to Kimberly Simon. They have two children, Madison and Justin.
One thing very close to him is mentoring. He has been doing mentoring outside of his professional life.
“I’ve been doing it so many years with different organizations. I am very passionate about regarding the education of our youth in civic education.”
He admitted that growing up, he was not informed.
“I’ve learned later in life that knowledge is power,” he said. “One of my passions is to educate our youth on being part of the process. And I do it with young adults and adults as well who may not be part of the process. But that is just something I’m really passionate about.”
He encouraged people to be more involved with city government.
“We will continue to live stream our meetings,” he said. “I encourage everyone to watch our meetings to get involved. We are making decisions that affect our citizens’ lives on a daily basis.”
He added there were several vacancies on boards and commissions that officials want citizens to get involved in.
“I think it is important that our community is engaged and informed,” Simon said.