Local Radar

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Ridge Spring Town Council appoints "moderators" to oversee Public Hearing

Mayor removed as presiding authority

web posted August 24, 2006

RIDGE SPRING – In a special called meeting that ended less than 10 minutes after it began, the Ridge Spring town council majority Tuesday night voted to approve a resolution to appoint two town residents to moderate a public hearing to be held at 7 pm on Monday, Aug. 28, at the Civic Center on west Main Street. Despite limited advance notice of last night's meeting, residents filled the town hall conference room to capacity.
 
The expected 3-2 vote, with Lewis Burt, Bob Nelson and Jim Saul voting in the affirmative, carried the resolution appointing Pat and Capers Asbill to preside over a meeting that is predicted to bring public outcry over the possible elimination of the town's police department.  They said Mrs. Asbill's former experience as one who had taught parliamentary procedure in school qualified her for the appointment.
 
However, Mayor Martin said that the councilmen's actions are just another ploy to undermine her authority as the chief administrator of the town. One of her main duties as mayor in the mayor-council form of government is to preside over council meetings. South Carolina law dictates that the Mayor is to preside at meetings of the council and vote as other council members.

Councilman Nelson was quoted Wednesday in a story in a local newspaper as saying they thought it was "in the town's best interest to have an unbiased opinion" during the upcoming meeting. Nevertheless, some residents question just how "unbiased" the appointees really are and wonder why someone from outside of the community - who has absolutely no interest in town affairs - could not have been tapped to serve as moderator or why the mayor is not allowed to preside over the hearing as required.

However, the council majority has said that the town's local ordinances allow the appointment of a third party to preside over a meeting, another claim the mayor disputes.
 
The fact that the majority can freely quote ordinances also raises eyebrows due to the town ordinance book being missing for months, unavailable either to the mayor or to the public. The book is one of many official town records, which according to state law, is supposed to be under lock and key - with the chief administrator holding that key - and is never to leave the building except to be archived by the state.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reportedly turned the investigation of the records disappearance over to the Saluda County Sheriff's Department, which was made known to the public by Saluda County Sheriff Jason Booth during the August 7 town council meeting.
 
 

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