The March 31 speaker for the Optimist Club of Irmo-St. Andrews was Courtney Dennis, Irmo Town Manager. Dennis has a long association with the Club, beginning early-on with his representation of the police Explorer Post, a cause the Club has supported for several years.
He rose through the ranks of the Department and served for two years as the Irmo Chief of Police. In 2022, he assumed his current position.
The town of Irmo consists of more than 5,000 households in 14 neighborhoods and more than 11,000 residents. It operates on a sound financial basis, the largest source of which are business licenses for more than 1,000 businesses. Those licenses and other smaller sources combine to support an $8.5 million budget. This is accomplished with no property taxes and no debt.
Irmo enjoys a well developed road system. Some car-count statistics Dennis shared include Lake Murray Boulevard with a daily traffic pattern of 29,000 vehicles a day. Others he mentioned were St. Andrews Road (18,000 vehicles per day) and Broad River Road (23,000).
Some routine areas of operation for the town are permitting, zoning, business licenses, policing, fire protection, and EMS.
The town of Irmo is governed by a five member board, including the mayor. An area of high focus this year is a review of the town’s ordinances. There are also commissions that concentrate on specific areas of Irmo life, the most visible of which is the Okra Strut Commission.
Pictured are Optimist Club President Larry Blosser, Dennis, and speaker sponsor Kerry Powers.
