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Chapin council passes 1st reading to give mayor power to appoint, remove key department heads
Summary
At its Jan. 20 meeting the Chapin Town Council approved a first reading of an ordinance that would give the mayor authority to appoint and terminate the town finance director, planning & zoning director, public works director and police chief; the reading passed by a 3–2 vote amid public concern about concentrating power.
Chapin — The Chapin Town Council held a first reading Jan. 20 of an ordinance amending the town code to give the mayor authority to appoint and terminate several senior municipal officers, including the director of finance, the director of planning and zoning, the director of public works and the chief of police.
Council Member Warren Burritt moved to approve the ordinance on first reading (in title only); Mayor Pro Tem Ainslee Bost seconded. The motion passed by a 3–2 vote: Mayor Bill Mitchell, Council Member Ainslee Bost and Council Member Warren Burritt voted yes; Council Member Vicky Shealy and Council Member Mike Clonts voted no.
The ordinance cites amendments to Chapter 2 (Administration) and Chapter 13 (Police), specifically proposed changes to §§2.408, 2.701, 2.801 and 13.101 that would centralize appointment and termination authority in the office of the mayor. The council conducted only a title-only first reading; no final adoption occurred at the meeting.
During the public comment period, Erin Wessinger urged council members to “consider the oath they took” before passing the change and warned that shifting hiring and firing to a single official risks concentrating power, saying it could allow “one person [to] run everything like a dictatorship.” John Campbell asked that a copy of the proposed ordinance be made available before a final vote so residents and business owners could see the exact language.
Council discussion and the vote followed an executive session earlier in the meeting after which the council authorized the mayor to take necessary personnel actions for positions governed by S.C. Code §§5-7-220 and 14-25-115; that separate motion also passed by a 3–2 vote (Mitchell, Bost, Burritt: yes; Shealy, Clonts: no).
The council did not adopt the ordinance on final reading. Officials said the item will return for any subsequent required readings; no date for a second reading was set during the meeting. The hearing also occurred against the backdrop of an immediate resignation of the town’s director of finance, which Mayor Mitchell said left the council without a financial report for the month.
If adopted, the code changes would shift hiring and termination authority for the listed positions to the mayor’s office; the ordinance text will determine whether any checks (such as council confirmation or notice requirements) accompany that power.
