|
Featured Sections Headlines Opinion Obituaries Sports Crime Blotter Happenings Country Cooking Wandering Minds Classifieds Birthdays Off The Wall On The Record Archives Church Listings Live WebCam
Edgefield
Square  Featured Columns Pastor Williams Tech Tips Carl Langley Editor's Column Dr. Skip Myers Registered Sex Offenders for Edgefield County 2005 Crime Stats Video & Audio Updates Audio Archive (Testing) Video Archive Contact us Contact Info or E-mail the Editor Phone: 803-634-0964 day 803-279-5041 eve 803-279-8943 fax Mail to EdgefieldDaily.com PO Box 972 Edgefield SC 29824 School System EC District Office School Board Strom Thurmond Charter Schools Fox Creek Private Schools Wardlaw Academy Public Offices Edgefield County Edgefield Johnston Trenton Political State and Federal Legislative Contacts Local Political Parties Republican Party Democrat Party Chamber of Commerce Edgefield County Chamber Historical Edgefield Genealogical Society News links Edgefield Advertiser The Citizen News Aiken Standard North Augusta Star The State Augusta Chronicle Atlanta Journal United Press Associated Press FOX News Reuters CNS News WorldNet Daily Newsmax Drudge Report GoogleNews Yahoo!News New York Times New York Post Los Angeles Times Washington Times Washington Post |
 Confirmed: Meeting of county council members violated state law web posted August 21, 2009 COUNTY – A Town Hall meeting held by Edgefield County Councilman Rodney Ashcraft and attended by County Council Chairman Monroe Kneece and Vice-chairman Willie Bright has been confirmed to be in violation of South Carolina state law according to Herbert Hayden Jr., Executive Director of the South Carolina Ethics Commission. Mr. Hayden added that though it was a violation of the statutes, it is not a matter under the purview of the Ethics Commission. “If they discussed matters before the public body, or even things the public body has authority over, it’s a violation,” He said. It is not a violation for a majority of the county council members to be in the company of each other, “If they wanted to go have breakfast at the Waffle House that’s not a meeting.” This includes public appearances such as parades or public functions. However, if the discussion turned to anything they have authority over as a public body they would then violate the law. Councilman Ashcraft said Thursday he was told there was no problem with three members being present at the meeting and was assured of that by County Attorney Michael Medlock earlier in the day. Mr. Hayden suggested all involved refer to SC Code of Laws 30-4-20 (d) and (e) which states: “(d) "Meeting" means the convening of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body, whether corporal or by means of electronic equipment, to discuss or act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power. (e) "Quorum" unless otherwise defined by applicable law means a simple majority of the constituent membership of a public body.” The law also states that such a meeting would have to include a public notice and minutes of the meeting to be taken. Section 30-4-100 states: “Any person or group of persons who willfully violates the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days for the first offense, shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than sixty days for the second offense and shall be fined three hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than ninety days for the third or subsequent offense.” Councilman Ashcraft stated he was drafting a letter to all members of the county council to inform them that the town hall meeting was conducted “improperly” and that he hoped it would be a learning experience for all. He stated that in the future such gatherings by three or more members should be avoided. © Copyright 2009
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
|
NOTICE:
We still need recipes for Cooking Section WEBNEWS – Send in your favorite or favorites. There is no limit to the number of recipes you can send in. With the Editor’s wife being the driving force behind her own personal section, help her create an exchange of local favorites, home cooking, grilling, sauces, and deserts! Send in your submissions here. |
