Individuals wanting to officially appear on the agenda for Calhoun County Council regularly scheduled Monday meetings are asked to contact the clerk to council by noon on Wednesday before the meeting.
“We are trying to get the agenda stuff right,” Calhoun County Council Chairman James Haigler said Monday.
Haigler said prior to the Monday meetings, he and council Vice Chairman Ken Westbury meet Thursday morning to set the agenda, meaning information on anyone wanting to make an official appearance on the agenda needs to be submitted before this time.
The deadline for notification to appear on the agenda previously was noon on Thursdays.
Individuals wanting to officially appear on the agenda should contact clerk to court Shayla Jenkins at 803-874-2435.
The Wednesday noon deadline is only for individuals wanting to officially make an appearance on the agenda.
People are also reading…
Individuals who want to speak at a meeting, but do not want to formally be on the agenda, can still do so by filling in a sign-up sheet in council chambers on the day of the meeting but prior to the meeting.
Calhoun County Council typically meets the second and fourth Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at 102 Courthouse Drive in St. Matthews.
In other matters, council unanimously passed second reading to amend the composition, responsibilities and duties of the governing boards for the Calhoun County Rural Fire District and the Sandy Run Fire District and to provide that these fire districts be operated as an administrative division of the county.
A public hearing will be held at the next meeting before third and final reading.
The ordinance combines the Sandy Run Fire District and the Rural Fire District boards into the County Fire District Commission. The existing fire service areas and all departments and locations are unchanged.
The ordinance also updates and clarifies the duties and responsibilities of the existing fire coordinator position and provides for the future addition of other paid personnel as needed
The change is designed to ensure the county and volunteer departments will continue to be able to handle demand and growth.
The existing board members, operations and volunteers will remain in place, according to county officials.
County administration said the change would enable the county’s existing financing and procurement departments to better track the funds and expenditures of departments, plus the commission being able to standardize equipment and gear, with hopes of reducing costs and increasing opportunities for grants for equipment, gear and trucks.
The ordinance does not affect either the existing fire fee in the rural district area or the millage in the Sandy Run area. The county will be working in the next year to determine the best way to fund the operations moving forward whether that is a fee or millage, according to county officials.
Council was proceeding with the reading process in recent months but halted the process when Sandy Run Fire Commission officials requested more time to review the ordinance and its impact on the commission.
In other business:
- Council unanimously approved a resolution recognizing April as “Fair Housing Month” and that the county makes it a priority to ensure all citizens are ‘afforded the opportunity to attain a decent, safe and sound living environment’ and that the county rejects discrimination in the sale and rental and provision of housing services.
- Calhoun County resident Jacob Hair expressed concerns about council’s meeting policy prohibiting attendees at meetings to applaud or to show their appreciation.
“My question to council … is something on the ordinance or something on the books that prohibits the taxpayer from coming to the meeting and clap,” Hair said, noting that he saw a recent article in a newspaper showing state legislators clapping on the floor of the South Carolina Statehouse. “I just want to know how we will handle this going forward.”
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