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The Town of Allendale did not finalize the hiring of a town administrator on Sept. 25 as previously expected, despite town officials previously stating Lamaz Robinson was slated to be hired.
At a September 25 meeting, the Allendale Town Council went into executive session to discuss the hiring of a town administrator. The employee slated to be hired for this position was former Barnwell Police Department (BPD) Chief Lamaz Robinson, as previously reported by The People-Sentinel and confirmed by numerous Town of Allendale officials.
However, when the council came out of executive session, it did not vote on the town administrator position as stated in the agenda.
Councilmember Lee Harley-Fitts told The People-Sentinel that the council has taken no action thus far regarding hiring for administrative positions. The People-Sentinel previously reported the council was set to hire two administrative positions – a town administrator (Lamaz Robinson) and a deputy administrator. The deputy position was slated to be filled by Allendale County Councilman William Robinson. William Robinson confirmed this to The People-Sentinel.
Instead of voting on administrative positions as the agenda stated, the council voted to allow Allendale Chief of Police Lawrence Wiggins hire two new police officers for the Town of Allendale’s Police Department – an illegal action without first amending the agenda to reflect this executive session conversation.
When The People-Sentinel spoke to Councilwoman Kathy Tharin last week, she explained the roles in which each individual will serve: “[William Robinson] will be a reference point and resource for Lamaz Robinson when he comes into the office.”
Tharin also explained why the council felt Lamaz Robinson was a good fit: “What we liked about Mr. Robinson was that he had come into the interview with a lot of good ideas about what direction he saw [the town of] Allendale going.”
When The People-Sentinel spoke to Lamaz Robinson about this upcoming position, he explained some of his goals and aspirations for the Town of Allendale such as a “comprehensive evaluation.” However, both Lamaz Robinson and William Robinson have yet to be officially hired, according to councilmember Harley-Fitts, and no plan to take any action regarding these positions has been made thus far.
The City of Barnwell administrator Lynn McEwen has confirmed Lamaz Robinson’s resignation with his last day with the department being Tuesday, September 26.
The People-Sentinel has been unable to reach Lamaz Robinson for comment at press time.
On September 19, Barnwell City Council voted unanimously to ask Robert Miller to serve as interim chief. Miller retired in July 2021 as assistant chief with BPD following 43 years of service.
