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Council approves resolution to make state insurance/retirement benefits available to council members
Summary
Council accepted an addendum and voted to make state insurance benefits and participation in the state retirement program available to council members as a body; individual members may choose whether to enroll.
Williamsburg County Council voted to accept an addendum and a resolution asking whether the body wishes to make state insurance benefits and South Carolina Retirement System participation available to council members.
The resolution does not force individual members to enroll; rather, it affirms whether the council, as a body, wishes to make the option available. "As a body, we will vote on whether or not council wants to participate," an unidentified speaker explained; council members confirmed that individual council members retain the right to decide whether to enroll if the body approves making the program available.
Why it matters: the state action that authorized this outreach affects the benefits options available to local elected officials. Council members asked whether accepting the resolution would reclassify council members as employees; the chair and Attorney Schuler clarified the measure is to offer availability and that participation remains an individual decision.
What happens next: the motion to accept the addendum and resolution carried by voice vote; if the body affirms participation in a future vote, individual council members will be required to enroll on their own if they wish to receive coverage or retirement participation.
