Government

Lancaster native Al Simpson will be Mick Mulaney’s chief of staff in Washington, D.C.
Mulvaney, who will be sworn in Jan. 5 as the 5th District U.S. House representative, has been busy preparing for his new role, which includes selecting an office, meeting federal officials and appointing a staff.
Simpson will be in charge of managing Mulvaney’s staff, which will include between 12 to 15 people. He will oversee constituent services and make sure events run according to schedule.
Simpson officially accepted the offer earlier this month.

County Councilman Larry Honeycutt shook his head when the topic of Haile Gold Mine came up Tuesday night.
It wasn’t final reading of a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement between the county and the Kershaw mine that worried him. Instead, he was more concerned about where the headquarters for the company that owns the mine will be located.
Romarco Minerals Inc., a Canadian gold development company that owns about 4,000 acres of land at the mine, has been mining for gold at the site since 2007.

County Council will hold nine public hearings during its Tuesday night meeting.
Following are the topics of the hearings:
• Establishing the Indian Land Fire Protection District
• Leasing part of the Lynwood Drive landfill for the county Flyers Club
• Creating a sewerline easement for the new county courthouse
• Approving a fee-in-lieu agreement between Haile Gold Mine and the county
• Creating the Brookchase special tax district

County officials are asking the public to weigh in as it begins to gather information for a strategic plan.
Deputy County Administrator Jeffery Naftal said county officials have developed a survey as part of the county’s strategic planning process. He said it’s important council members hear directly from residents about the needs of the county.
The survey, which features about 20 questions, asks about county services and departments, sales and property taxes and county funding. The idea is to learn which priorities the public deems the most important.