SC taxpayers spending $20,000 on new logo for environmental agency

South Carolina taxpayers have spent $20,000 for a marketing company to design a logo for a new state agency that will replace the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s environmental division.

The expenditure, while not much when compared to DHEC’s more than $600 million budget, has one legislator questioning the judgment of top state officials spending taxpayer dollars on a service that could have been done in-house at DHEC.

DHEC, which is being dissolved July 1, already has a staff member who could have done the work in creating the logo for the new Department of Environmental Services, a South Carolina senator told The State.

“To me, that is an amazing lack of judgment, to spend $20,000 on the design of a logo for a new agency,’’ said state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Columbia Democrat and critic of DHEC through the years.

As part of a government restructuring law that is intended to make things more efficient, the Department of Environmental Services will pick up most programs now administered by DHEC’s environmental division, such as issuing permits to industries and monitoring drinking water safety.

In total, the state paid the Chernoff Newman agency $48,050. Along with the $20,000 logo development, the expenditure includes $10,000 on a comprehensive style guide and $8,000 for a brand summary and development of a creative strategy.

DHEC, whose environmental division authorized the expenditure, said the $48,050 is being paid to Chernoff Newman by the new Department of Environmental Services.

In contrast, DHEC’s health division did not rely on Chernoff Newman. It designed a new logo in-house with existing agency staff, DHEC officials said in an email. The agency’s health division will become the new Department of Public Health next month at the same time the environmental division will become the Department of Environmental Services.

Harpootlian, who faces state Rep. Russell Ott in this month’s Democratic senate primary, said the decision by top DHEC staff to hire an outside firm shows a disconnect with taxpayers. DHEC’s top environmental division staff members will run the Department of Environmental Services under Gov. Henry McMaster.

“It concerns me if those folks are going to be running the new agency, then the governor probably needs to do a little house cleaning,’’ Harpootlian said.

Ott, D-Calhoun, said he’d like to know more.

“It’s always good that we make sure we know exactly what the money is being spent on, but I don’t know that I’m ready to get upset about it at this particular point until they have an opportunity to say what their thoughts were,” Ott said. “I can understand that those types of things are needed at the end of the day.’’

The Department of Environmental Services will be initially headed by Myra Reece, a veteran regulator who is well-known and well-liked by many in state government. She will work directly for McMaster as part of his cabinet. At DHEC, a board oversaw the agency.

DHEC staff said the logo design is an important part of establishing the new Department of Environmental Services.

Chernoff Newman, a successful and well-known marketing and communications company in the Columbia community, declined comment.

DHEC officials, who would not release the new Department of Environmental Services design, said they are working hard to make the transition a smooth one. Chernoff Newman put together the new logo and provided other services to help with the transition.

In an email to The State, DHEC spokeswoman Cristi Moore wrote that the creation of the new agency is a “one-time opportunity to communicate with the public about our new organization, its purpose and the services it provides.”

“As the future South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) has been building its internal resources and capacity for communications during this time of transition, Chernoff Newman was able to provide supplemental professional services to ensure that the launch of the new agency will be successful,” Moore said.

She noted that Chernoff Newman was picked after a competitive bidding process. It will assist with the launch of the new agency, she said.

DHEC said the money paid to Chernoff Newman goes “well beyond a logo but builds an overarching communications strategy that will create awareness, confidence, and trust amongst employees, stakeholders and the taxpayers of South Carolina.”

“We are excited to reveal the new South Carolina Department of Environmental Services agency and brand to the people of South Carolina on July 1, 2024,” a follow up email read.

While the Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Public Health are being created to replace DHEC’s environmental division and its health division, other agencies may also be added to the new health department. That remains a point of debate in the Legislature.

If things go as envisioned by boosters of splitting DHEC, the new Department of Public Health would also include the existing departments of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, Disabilities and Special Needs, Health and Human Services, Mental Health, and Aging.