Commission, sheriff's office agree to keep top‑three selection process; legal counsel advises documentation improvements

Berkeley County commissioners and representatives of the sheriff’s office discussed on May 20 how deputy vacancies will be filled after the January 10 eligibility examination, and they agreed to retain the practice of certifying the top three eligible candidates for each vacancy while improving documentation of selections.

President Dale Buck and Commissioner D. Scott Wilson said the commission will continue forwarding the top three eligible names to the sheriff’s office. Chief Tom A. Young told the commission the sheriff’s office will provide written vacancy requests identifying positions to be filled; the office will not make conditional offers until background investigations and other hiring contingencies are completed.

Commissioners and chief officers agreed that contemporaneous documentation—such as cover letters, spreadsheets, or other electronic tracking that record which names were presented and the order in which selections occurred—should be used to create a clear record of each vacancy and selection. Wilson said legal counsel had emphasized the need for contemporaneous documentation; Chief Young suggested electronic methods would preserve records while reducing paperwork during meetings.

Commissioner Wilson noted legal counsel also advised that state law requires three eligible names to be certified for each vacancy; when fewer than three names remain on an eligibility list, a new examination will be required. The commission discussed whether a single written vacancy request could include multiple openings or whether separate requests were preferable; they left details to be finalized before the next hiring cycle.

The commission and sheriff’s office agreed to continue refining the process and to finalize documentation procedures before the next selections are required.