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Councils, whether they be at the helm of a county or municipality, are at liberty to make their own rules of procedure within the constructs of state law. These rules guide the council and participating citizens on how to conduct meetings and therefore use their time efficiently and effectively.
Recently, there have been two instances at the county level where the council’s own rules of procedure were violated.
When the newly appointed Generations Unlimited (GU) board met on December 12, they took action without having a quorum. A quorum is defined as the minimum number of board or council members that must be present at a meeting to make the proceedings at said meeting valid.
For GU and other county committees, a majority of board members are required to be present at the meeting to have a quorum.
Out of the seven-member board, only three board members were present at the meeting – which does not fulfill quorum requirements. The meeting continued after this was debated due to the board’s and director’s uncertainty if a board member had been appointed by the county council yet, therefore changing the required number for a quorum.
This board member was found to have been appointed by the county in October, having seven fully appointed members.
The GU board is appointed to three-year terms by county council members, and is tasked with overseeing the general operations and finances of the office on aging.
Minutes from previous meetings were approved with amendments at this ‘invalid’ Dec. 12 meeting, making these minutes unofficial as they were not approved by a majority vote.
Due to GU’s current financial uncertainty and operational errors previously reported on by The People-Sentinel, the board is wading through larger issues than a violation of meeting protocol. However, structure in these committee meetings only leads to further organization and provides a baseline for a productive board.
According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC), “rules of procedure are designed to provide for majority rule and meeting efficiency while ensuring impartiality and fairness to all members of council.”
The point of a council meeting, whether it be at the county or municipal level, is to serve as a way to involve the community in the decision-making and also handle business required to be made public per state and federal law.
In September, Barnwell County Council cut time from public commenters – a violation of their own rules of procedure. The county’s rules of procedure give individuals three minutes to speak before council, however, some were given just over two minutes to express their concerns.
After a story was published in this newspaper, council rectified the issue by purchasing a clock to ensure future public commenters would not have their allotted time cut short.
Public comment sections of meetings can look different under each council.
In the Town of Williston and the City of Barnwell, commenters are required to sign up to speak and are given an allotted time to do so. Like these municipalities, speakers must also sign up beforehand at Barnwell County Council meetings. The county’s school districts also require the public to sign up so many days in advance. The time period for signing up, the allotted time to speak, and other details vary by board or council.
In the Town of Blackville, public commenters do not have to sign up. Instead, a microphone is passed around the crowd by the town administrator or a council member. This has previously led to long-winded or repetitive comments during the town’s meetings.
Although MASC and the S.C. Association of Counties provide guidelines on how councils can regulate public comment, it is ultimately up to the council to enforce their own rules.
