Swansea, SC 07/16/2021 (Paul Kirby) – Since Swansea’s Mayor Jerald Sanders was indicted on several charges last Monday and was subsequently suspended from his duties by Governor Henry McMasters, to date, no cumulative action has been taken by its remaining four council members to ensure the town’s citizens will continue to be served by their government. No official meetings have been held and not much information has come out of the town hall.
According to someone at the town hall, Governor McMasters appointed Mayor Pro-Tem Woodrow Davis as the interim mayor. Since then, the town has been on cruise control as everyone processes what has happened with the mayor in their own way. In one sense, that’s a good thing. The police are patrolling the streets, the water is flowing, and garbage is being collected. In other ways, things should not and cannot continue as they are. If they do, some of South Carolina’s and Swansea’s own laws would be broken by the remaining elected officials.
Since the mayor’s regime began to crumble, a lot of questions have arisen. Their regular council meeting for July that was set to be held tonight. That meeting would have given the council an opportunity to start making those decisions. Ironically, someone cancelled that meeting without cause or explanation. The way the some of the council members were notified is also a bit strange. Still, the list of issues that need to be addressed grows longer each day.
To understand the depth of the problems the town is facing; you must first understand the dynamics of the political makeup of Swansea. The town has a weak mayor or strong council form of government. That means that apart for a few powers granted to the mayor by the town’s charter or ordinances, the mayor has no more voting power or authority that any of the other four council members.
At some point in the past, Swansea made provision for hiring a town administrator by ordinance. This person would oversee the day-to-day operations of the town with guidance from the council. That position is unfilled at the moment. At the time of his indictment, Mayor Sanders was acting in that role as well as serving as the town’s mayor. To say that more clearly, the mayor who was indicted for embezzlement and misconduct in office was the one running the day-to-day operations of the town prior to last Monday.
Like most other small town’s, there are people working for Swansea. That’s how they make their living. There’s a police department, a sanitation department, a town clerk that handles correspondence, accounting, and interacts with the public on a daily basis, and others. There is also a Swansea water system that has its own clerk. All these people would normally be overseen by the town’s administrator if there were one. If the town’s administrator were unavailable, it would fall on the mayor to oversee these employees and answer questions until the administrator returned. The real issue now is since there is no administrator, and the interim mayor, formerly Mayor Pro Tem Woodrow Davis, is elderly and in poor health, so who’s running things? Davis has never publicly said he’s up to, is willing to, or wants to take on the arduous task of running the town’s operations every day. Did anyone ask him and if so, what was his answer?
There are many questions and decisions that have already come up that need to be addresses by the town’s remaining council members. According to Council Members Doris Simmons and Michael Luongo, the issues are growing rapidly. This is just a part of what they say needs to be addressed.
1. Discussion of the validity of Mayor Pro Tem Woodrow Davis’ position. The mayor pro tem is not an appointed position. In most towns, including Swansea, the entire council nominates and then votes on which council member will hold the position of mayor pro tem. According to Swansea’s own town ordinances, that must happen during the first meeting after a general election. In the case of Woodrow Davis, no one can recall or find a record of any vote making him their mayor pro tem. It appears as If there was no vote taken, This means Davis really never was the mayor pro tem according to Swansea’s town’s ordinances. In other words, he had the title presented to him by someone but had no authority at all. In his letter suspending Jerald Sanders, the governor alluded to the fact that the mayor pro tem should be picking up the responsibilities the mayor was performing while he is suspended. If Davis was never actually elected mayor pro tem, should he be the acting mayor?
2. Discussion of the 2nd signature required on all checks. According to Council Members Simmons and Luongo, Swansea has had an ordinance in place for decades that require all town checks to have two signatures. This isn't uncommon in governments. Interim Mayor Woodrow Davis is one of those who is approved to sign checks. The other person is now suspended Mayor Jerald Sanders. According to Swansea’s own laws, without the two signatures, no check should be valid.
3. Resolution for the signature requirement. Since former Mayor Sanders cannot sign checks at this point, the council needs to pass a resolution naming the second person authorized to sign. That person then needs to go to the bank with the passed resolution in hand and have their signature added to the town’s accounts. No one person can just pick someone to do this. The new signer must be appointed by a majority vote of the entire remaining council. That's the law.
4. Resolution to extend the deadline for budget for 2021-2022 for two months. There is a state law that dictates the town must have an approved budget in place before the first day of the new fiscal year. In Swansea’s case, that deadline to pass the new budget was June 30, 2021. The former mayor only presented the full council the draft budget once, and that was in early July. The council really needs to pass a resolution, again with a majority vote, that extends the time they have to finish and pass a budget. In this case, it’s been suggested that they give themselves two more months. This is important work and needs to be looked at quickly. The budget the mayor had presented was more that $70,000 in the red! That simply won't work.
5. Resolution to file for the 2021 election to be held in November 2021. This is a really a formality, but it still must be done. Without the resolution, the November 2021 election would not be valid in the eyes of the law.
6. Discussion of the Trash Collection Contract. Apparently, there are either issues with the contract or it is time to renew the trash contract. The council could vote to keep the contract as is for a period if that were okay with both the contractor and the council. If Swansea’s trash collection contract is set to expire and any changes need to be made, that decision would have to be made by a majority of the council. If the town’s ordinances say the contract must be rebid at a specific interval, that’s not a suggestion, that’s the way it has to be done by law.
7. Discussion of the 2nd Reading of the Hospitality Tax Ordinance. A Hospitality Tax is a tax on all prepared food and beverage sold in town. That includes a burger from Hardees, boiled p-nuts in the crock pot at the gas station, or a meal at the diner downtown. If it’s food that took preparation to make, it’s taxed. The money can only be used for things that will make it more attractive for people to come to Swansea to spend their money. The council had been discussing this earlier in the summer and did have a first reading on it. Is it now dead? If not, should it be killed, or does the council want to try and revive it and still push it through? All of these require discussion and a vote of the majority of the remaining council members.
In a private business, if the company’s leader were suddenly unavailable, the next in line to that person could simply start making decisions on what to do until all issues were cleared up and an official leader was named. Government just doesn’t work that way.
Governments are more like large corporations. Corporations have rules, by-laws, and a board of directors. In governments, the rules and by-laws are called ordinances, and the board of directors is usually called the council. Ordinances must be followed. They are the law, not suggestions! When they passed, whether it was 100 years ago or last May, the majority of the governing body at that time had to agree on these with a majority vote. They remain in force unless they are amended or rescinded by the town’s elected leaders sometimes later with another vote. No one can simply say since the mayor is not available, we’ll just have Interim Mayor Davis sign all checks and forget about requiring the second signature. It really doesn’t work that way. If that’s what the council want to do, they have to meet and agree on that change and then take a vote.
Because of these issues, Council Members Doris Simmons and Mike Luongo were preparing for tonight’s regular meeting shortly after news of the mayor’s suspension came out last week. They both say they knew there was a lot to be done and they wanted to be prepared to work with the two other council members on all these issues quickly. Then, the oddest thing happened. At 2:50 pm on Wednesday, July 14, Amekoa Mack, the water system’s clerk, called to say the regular meeting scheduled for tonight, July 19, was cancelled. She couldn’t say why it was cancelled or why she was informing the council and not the town’s Clerk Margaret Harvey but that’s what happened.
To say the least, the two council members were stunned. There was so much to do, and time was of the essence. Simmons and Luongo quickly drafted a letter requesting that a “Special Called Meeting” be held on July 19th, tonight. All council members are granted the authority to request this type of meeting and have the mayor schedule it by Swansea’s own ordinances. In the Town of Swansea’s book of ordinances, Chapter Two, Article Two, Section 2.4 it says: “….The mayor shall call a special called meeting whenever he/she is asked to do so by at least two of the council.” Again, not a suggestion but the law of the town. They even have set penalties and fines for violating these ordinances that are spelled out in Chapter One, Section 1.6; Chapter Two, Sections 2.52; 2.53, 2.75; 2.76; 2.8; 2.84; 2.88; and 2.143. Simmons and Luongo the set a deadline to hear back from whoever was calling the shots for the town as noon on Friday. This would still give them time to have someone prepare an agenda, make it public, and do all the things a town must do before a meeting is held. Just before noon Friday, Luongo and Simmons received word that the Special Called meeting would be held on Thursday, July 29, 2021, more that a week later than they requested but a meeting none the less.
Until that meeting, the town of Swansea will have to continue as it has. There are few answers but lots of questions. Questions like if you receive a check from the town and it has only one signature is it valid? Who’s overseeing the town’s daily operations right now, and who authorized the Town Clerk Margaret Harvey’s personal leave she took last week. The list goes on and on but until the town’s leaders sit down and make some decisions together, the answers to any of these questions remain elusive.
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