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Voices were stifled at the September 12 Barnwell County Council meeting when Chairman Jerry Creech cut public commenters short – a violation of the council’s own procedure.
According to the county’s rules of procedure, “any person or group may speak to the council during public comment with permission of the chair and shall address the chair,” with time limited to three minutes per person, or ten minutes per group.
Four individuals signed up to speak during public comment: Cole Page, Thomas Sharpe, Barbara Christian, and Norma Owens. All spoke regarding a different topic, but the gavel was struck early on two commenters.
Cole Page, a district three resident, spoke about how he feels he was lied to by county officials for three minutes and 14 seconds.
The People-Sentinel records all public meetings, which is allowed per state law, and verified this time via the reporter’s audio recording.
When Thomas Sharpe took to the podium to speak about alleged misappropriation of mills to the county rural fire service, Chairman Creech only gave him two minutes and 29 seconds – 31 seconds less than the allotted time per the county’s rules of procedure.
Sharpe critiqued the council claiming, “since 2011, there has been $450,857 withheld from the Barnwell County Fire Service in dedicated rural fire tax funds.”
The People-Sentinel is currently looking into these allegations.
Barbara Christian only took one minute and three seconds during her public comment thanking the council for their support of the September 11 memorial in Calhoun Park.
Norma Owens spoke at the last council meeting regarding concerns about the Barnwell County Cemetery such as what can and cannot be on gravesites. This time, Owens was given two minutes and 20 seconds in total before Chairman Creech hit the gavel.
During her two minutes and 20 seconds, Chairman Creech said he was going to “break protocol” to provide a response. He spoke for 17 seconds in total, which ultimately means Owens was given just over two minutes to speak.
When Chairman Creech told Owens her time was up for public comment, Owens responded stating, “No, it wasn’t, but thank you for listening to me and I’ll be back.”
According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC), “State law gives councils the authority to set their own rules of procedure, as long as the rules do not conflict with state law.”
Barnwell County Council’s rules of procedure regarding public comment do align with state law, but actions taken at the Sept. 12 meeting violate their own ruling.
The City of Conway council uses a countdown clock on a large screen to help those speaking determine how much time is remaining.
