Berkeley County commission backdates corporal’s promotion eligibility, alters exam schedule and closes candidate hearing

The Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff Civil Service Commission voted unanimously on March 31, 2025, to backdate Corporal Philip Butcher’s promotion eligibility to March 11, 2022, after an executive session and discussion about a judge’s earlier letter and related paperwork.

The action followed a petition filed by Butcher on Oct. 16, 2023, asking the commission to correct why he had not been given a hearing after several promotional offers that required reassignment to patrol. Commission members debated whether assignment decisions between the sheriff’s office and the courts fell within the commission’s authority before agreeing to recommend the backdate to the county.

The backdate matters because Butcher said the date of eligibility affects seniority and future promotional eligibility; he told the commission he was not seeking retroactive pay, only a change to the effective promotion date. “I don’t feel like it was handled properly to begin with,” Corporal Philip Butcher said during the meeting. The commission president summarized the commission’s view on the petition: “I think that the ball was dropped,” and later explained the decision rested on new information, including a judge’s correspondence and an administrative order the commission had not seen earlier.

The commission’s motion did not itself order any pay adjustments. Commissioners said the vote would produce a recommendation to county payroll and the sheriff’s office; any compensation or administrative adjustments would be handled by those offices. The commission cited an administrative order (17 AD 26) and a letter from Judge Faircloth as material to the decision and said their rules treat a vacancy date as the date of eligibility.

The meeting also handled two routine personnel items that had been added to the agenda. The commission approved moving the scheduled sergeant promotional exam from April 27 to April 17, 2025, at 9 a.m., to match corrected notices sent by staff. And the commission closed item 202400029 — a request for a new open hire physical agility and written exam for an applicant identified in meeting materials as Morland — after that applicant failed to respond by the certified-letter deadline, which the commission said constituted a waiver of the right to a public hearing.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to backdate Corporal Philip Butcher’s promotion eligibility to March 11, 2022 — Passed (motion made and seconded; recorded as carried). The commission described the measure as a recommendation to the county; compensation adjustments were not part of the commission’s action and would be handled administratively.

- Motion to change the sergeant promotional exam from April 27 to April 17, 2025, 9:00 a.m. — Passed (motion made, seconded, voice vote recorded as aye).

- Motion to cancel the tentative hearing and close item 202400029 (applicant Morland) after failure to respond to certified notice — Passed (motion made, seconded, voice vote recorded as aye). Meeting staff reported the certified letter was received by the applicant on March 25 but no letter of intent or other response arrived by the March 27 deadline.

Background and context

Butcher told the commission he had taken promotional exams multiple times (March 1, 2022; July 6, 2022; Aug. 25, 2023; Sept. 25, 2023) and said chiefs offered him promotions contingent on reassignment to patrol; he said he declined the reassignment in some instances and later was confirmed to remain in court security after judges intervened. The commission reviewed a packet Butcher supplied, including letters from judges and an administrative order (identified in the record as 17 AD 26, signed March 23, 2017). One commissioner described an uncertainty about the proper venue for disputes over assignments between the sheriff’s office and the courts but said the judge’s documentation changed the legal posture of the petition.

On the Morland item, staff reported the certified letter notifying the applicant of the hearing deadline was signed for on March 25, 2025, at 9:06 a.m.; because no written request for a hearing or other response arrived by the stated deadline, staff recommended closing the item and removing the applicant from the eligible list, as the notice warned.

The commission convened an executive session citing potential legal matters before returning to the public record and voting on the motions. The meeting opened at approximately 5:00 p.m. and adjourned at about 5:51 p.m.

The commission said it will forward its backdate recommendation and supporting documents to county payroll and the sheriff’s office for any administrative follow-up.