Columbia, South Carolina

General information

Mayor of Columbia Daniel Rickenmann
Nonpartisan
Assumed office: January 4, 2022

Last mayoral election:| 2021
Next mayoral election:| 2025
Last city council election:| March 28, 2023 (special)
Next city council election:| November 7, 2023
City council seats:| 7[1]
City website
Composition data (2019)
Population:| 133,273
Race:| White 53.4%
African American 39.8%
Asian 2.7%
Native American 0.1%
Pacific Islander 0.2%
Two or more 2.8%
Ethnicity:| Hispanic 5.5%
Median household income:| $47,286
High school graduation rate:| 89.4%
College graduation rate:| 43.8%
Related Columbia offices
South Carolina Congressional Delegation
South Carolina State Legislature
South Carolina state executive offices

Columbia is a city in Richland County, South Carolina. The city's population was 136,632 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...

* Mayor
* City council
* Other elected officials
* Elections
* Census information
* Budget
* Contact information
* Ballot measures

## Contents

* 1 City government
* 1.1 Mayor
* 1.2 City manager
* 1.3 City council
* 1.4 Other elected officials
* 2 Mayoral partisanship
* 3 Elections
* 3.1 2023
* 3.2 2021
* 4 Census information
* 5 Budget
* 5.1 Fiscally standardized cities data
* 5.1.1 Historical total revenue and expenditure
* 6 Contact information
* 7 Ballot measures
* 8 See also
* 9 External links
* 10 Footnotes

## City government[edit]

See also: Council-manager government

The city of Columbia uses a council-manager form of government. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2][3]

### Mayor[edit]

The mayor is the ceremonial head of the city and a member of the city council. The mayor presides over city council meetings. The mayor is elected at large.[3] The current Mayor of Columbia is Daniel Rickenmann (nonpartisan). Rickenmann assumed office in 2022.

### City manager[edit]

The city manager is the chief executive officer of the city. The city manager is in charge of overseeing the city's daily operations, implementing the city council's initiatives, updating the city council on matters up for consideration, and making recommendations to the city council on ordinances and resolutions. The city manager is appointed by a majority vote of the city council.[3]

### City council[edit]

The Columbia City Council is the legislative body of the city. The city council is in charge of making and enacting laws.[2][3]

The Columbia City Council consists of seven members: the mayor, four members elected by district, and two members elected at large.[2]

* Click here for a current list of council members

Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office | Date term ends

|
|
|
|

Columbia City Council District 1 | Tina Herbert | Nonpartisan | January 4, 2022 | January 1, 2026
Columbia City Council District 2 | Edward McDowell Jr. | Nonpartisan |  | January 2, 2028
Columbia City Council District 3 | Will Brennan | Nonpartisan | January 3, 2024 | January 3, 2028
Columbia City Council District 4 | Peter Brown | Nonpartisan | April 3, 2023 | January 1, 2026
Columbia City Council District At-large | Tyler Bailey | Nonpartisan | January 3, 2024 | January 3, 2028
Columbia City Council District At-large | Aditi Bussells | Nonpartisan | January 4, 2022 | January 1, 2026

### Other elected officials[edit]

Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Columbia, South Carolina.

## Mayoral partisanship[edit]

See also: Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2024)

Columbia has a Republican mayor. As of September 2024, the mayors of 37 state capitals are affiliated with the Democratic Party, six are Republicans, one is independent, and two are nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of four state capital mayors is unknown. While most mayoral elections in state capital cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party.

## Elections[edit]

### 2023[edit]

See also: City elections in Columbia, South Carolina (2023)

The city of Columbia, South Carolina, held a special election for the District 4 seat on the city council on March 28, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was January 23, 2023.[4]

The city also held general elections for city council on November 7, 2023. A runoff election was scheduled for November 21, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was September 7, 2023.

### 2021[edit]

See also: City elections in Columbia, South Carolina (2021) & Mayoral election in Columbia, South Carolina (2021)

The city of Columbia, South Carolina, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 2, 2021. A runoff election was scheduled for November 16, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was August 13, 2021.

## Census information[edit]

The table below shows demographic information about the city.

Demographic Data for Columbia

| Columbia
Population | 136,632
Land area (sq mi) | 137
Race and ethnicity**
White | 50.1%
Black/African American | 40.7%
Asian | 2.3%
Native American | 0.2%
Pacific Islander | 0.3%
Two or more | 5.1%
Hispanic/Latino | 5.2%
Education
High school graduation rate | 91.2%
College graduation rate | 44.8%
Income
Median household income | $54,095
Persons below poverty level | 15.7%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

## Budget[edit]

The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30. The city manager presents a proposed budget to the city council. A public hearing is held on the proposed budget by June 1 each year, and the city council adopts the budget during its second meeting in June.[5]

### Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]

The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[6]

“  |

FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[7]

| ”

|
|

—Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[8]

The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.

| Revenue in 2020

Revenue type | Amount
Total Revenue | $768,374,268
General Revenue | $667,027,503
Federal Aid | $59,124,013
State Aid | $119,159,964
Tax Revenue | $312,872,883
Charges & Misc. General Revenue | $175,870,644
Utility Revenue | $101,346,765
Liquor Store Revenue | $0

| Expenditures in 2020

Expenditure type | Amount
Total Expenditures | $779,181,401
General Expenditures | $673,502,267
Education Services Expenditure | $199,102,608
Health and Welfare Expenditure | $8,762,540
Transportation Expenditure | $28,621,652
Public Safety Expenditure | $129,964,453
Environment and Housing Expenditure | $189,820,660
Governmental Administration Expenditure | $51,844,365
Interest on General Debt | $16,496,835
Miscellaneous Expenditure | $48,890,477
Utility Expenditure | $105,092,321
Liquor Store Expenditure | $0
Intergovernmental Expenditures | $586,813

#### Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]

To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[6]

## Contact information[edit]

Mayor's office
1737 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-447-9768

City Clerk's office
1737 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-545-3045

Click here for city council contact information.

## Ballot measures[edit]

See also: List of South Carolina ballot measures and Richland County, South Carolina ballot measures

To view a list of statewide measures in South Carolina, click here.

To view a list of local ballot measures in Richland County, South Carolina, click here.

## See also[edit]

* Cities in South Carolina
* Richland County, South Carolina
* Largest cities in the United States by population

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* City of Columbia
* Columbia Mayor and City Council
* Columbia City Charter

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 City of Columbia, "Mayor and Council Appointments," accessed October 27, 2021
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Code of the Ordinances of the City of Columbia, South Carolina, "Chapter 2 - Administration," accessed October 27, 2021
4. ↑ The Post and Courier, "Special election to determine who will fill Joe Taylor’s Columbia City Council seat," December 30, 2022
5. ↑ City of Columbia, "FY 2021-2022 Budget Overview," accessed August 23, 2023
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
8. ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023

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