Aiken council gives unanimous first reading to ordinance allowing consent agendas, with public pull mechanism

On July 14 the Aiken City Council gave unanimous first reading to an ordinance that would amend section 2‑64 (subsections 4 and 5) of the Aiken city code to create a consent‑agenda option for routine or noncontroversial items.

Staff and the city attorney told council the proposal is intended to increase meeting efficiency while preserving public access: council or the mayor could pull an item, and members of the public would have an online and paper form available before the gavel so they can request removal of an item from the consent agenda. City staff said appointments to boards and commissions and significant finance matters (millage, annual budget, borrowing, and capital appropriations) would be excluded from the consent agenda.

The presented ordinance also removes design‑review and other board appointments from the consent agenda after staff legal review, citing a state requirement for public comment on certain appointments. Council members who spoke supported the proposal in principle but urged an intentional public outreach campaign to explain the change before full implementation.

Councilmember comments emphasized several safeguards: a single councilmember can pull an item from consent, the mayor may read titles of consent items into the record to meet legal requirements, and a paper form outside the meeting room will allow last‑minute public requests prior to the gavel. After discussion the ordinance received a unanimous first reading; no second reading or final adoption occurred at the July 14 meeting.

What happens next: the ordinance will return for a second reading at a future meeting; councilmembers requested outreach and education to the public before implementing a consent agenda.