Lake City council makes mayor’s position part-time, reduces salary

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — Lake City leaders voted Tuesday night to transition the role of the city’s mayor to a part-time position at a reduced salary.

The 4-3 vote by the city council means the pay of Mayor Yamekia Robinson, who took office for a four-year term in January 2023, will be reduced. No changes were made to council members’ salaries.

Before the vote, Robinson asked council members why the change was being proposed. One council member said, “we never had a full-time mayor,” without offering more details.

Robinson argued that “there is no such thing as a part-time mayor.”

“A mayor is a mayor after 5 p.m.,” she said. “They are a mayor at 8 p.m. when they receive a call or a text about a matter, or on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon about a matter. A mayor is always a full-time position.”

She also said her record as mayor speaks for itself.

“In my opinion, you give a demotion to someone who has not been putting in the work and no accomplishments have been made,” she said. “I have a list of accomplishments for the city of Lake City since I was sworn in. My work in the past two years as mayor speaks for me.”

One council member argued that the change was not needed because Robinson has done a good job.

“When things are going good, you don’t change things,” he said.

After the vote, Robinson vowed to continue serving the city.

“You just witnessed only one of the experiences of me, a woman in leadership, going through the fire,” she said. “Only one because I go through many. But even though I went through it, I promise you, I won’t smell like smoke, and I won’t have a burn spot on my body, because I’m still who I am for the city of Lake City.”

Robinson also said she is “not bitter” and that the “situation has only made me better because I still have a city to run and I am going to do just that.”

Before the vote, nearly a half-dozen residents expressed their concerns about having a part-time mayor. Some said they did not want the city to move backward after all of the good things Robinson has done to help the city grow.

One woman at the meeting agreed with the change, asking where the extra $25,000 for the mayor to be full-time would come from. In response, Robinson said that the money for this year was already in the current budget.

To watch the city council meeting, click here .

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Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of her work here .

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