§ 2-21. Meetings.

(a)

Regular.

(1)

Regular meetings of the council shall be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:00 p.m., provided, however, the council may vary this schedule upon concurrence of a majority.

(2)

The agenda and supporting materials shall be provided to the council not less than forty-eight (48) hours before the meeting.

The clerk to council will prepare the agenda for a regularly scheduled council meeting at the direction of the chairman of the county council. The agenda will include any business passed at a committee meeting, but a majority of the committee may vote to withdraw any resolution from the full council agenda.

A single council member may submit matters for consideration by the full council by providing the appropriate documentation at least six (6) business days prior to the council meeting in question. The requirement for appropriate documentation is not necessary for matters which impact a particular district only. The chairman of the county council has the sole discretion to determine whether or not an item as submitted meets the requirements of these rules.

(3)

Freedom of Information Act requirements must be met for all meetings.

(b)

Special.

(1)

The chairman or a majority of the members of council may call special meetings of the council.

(2)

All council members shall be forwarded written notice forty-eight (48) hours in advance of a special meeting that specifies the subject matter to be discussed. The written notice shall be placed in the council member's box in the council office if he is contacted personally by phone; otherwise, a notice will be delivered within twenty-four (24) hours to the council member. The clerk to council will keep a record of how and when each council member receives notification. Only those items mentioned in the notice or on the accompanying agenda shall be considered at a special meeting, unless other items are added by a majority of council. This procedure does not apply to emergency meeting requirements outlined in section 3-3.

(3)

Twenty-four (24) hours' notice must be given for a special meeting.

(c)

Emergency. The chairman, or in his absence the vice-chairman, may call an emergency meeting in accordance with 1976 S.C. Code section 4-9-130, as amended.

(d)

Briefings and work sessions.

(1)

The chairman may call a briefing meeting or work session or such meeting may be scheduled at a regular council meeting.

(2)

All council members shall be given written notice of a briefing or work session meeting that specifies the subject matter to be discussed at least two (2) working days before the meeting. Only those items mentioned in the notice or on the accompanying agenda shall be discussed at the meeting.

(3)

The primary purpose of a briefing or work session meeting shall be to present in-depth information and to provide an opportunity for the council to raise questions for the purpose of making more informed decisions on complex issues that would take undue time from a regular meeting.

(e)

Public hearing.

(1)

The council shall hold public hearings for those matters required by law and may hold public hearings for any purpose the council deems appropriate. Public hearings shall be held before final action is taken to:

a.

Adopt annual operational and capital improvement budgets;

b.

Make appropriations, including supplemental appropriations;

c.

Adopt building, housing, electrical, plumbing, gas, and other regulatory codes involving penalties;

d.

Adopt zoning and subdivision regulations;

e.

Levy taxes; and

f.

Sell, lease or contract to sell or lease real property owned by the county.

(2)

Such public hearings shall be advertised as required by law. If there is no applicable law, public hearings shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the community at least fifteen (15) days prior to such hearing.

(3)

A public hearing is understood to be a forum for people interested in the subject matter to present information to the council for their consideration as they deliberate an issue.

(4)

Each speaker shall be limited to five (5) minutes.

(5)

The presiding officer may terminate a presentation if the presiding officer determines that enough input has been presented on a particular point or that any further input would be redundant. Such speakers shall be encouraged to simply state their agreement with a previous speaker and bring only new information to the subject.

(6)

In addition to verbal presentation, written material may be submitted to the council for their consideration.

(7)

Public hearings shall be limited to a total of thirty (30) minutes; provided no speaker shall be allowed to exceed the five-minute limitation as provided in subsection (4) above. These limits may be extended at the discretion of the chairman under extraordinary circumstances and depending upon the length of the agenda and the number of speakers to be heard.

(f)

Executive session.

(1)

The council may hold an executive session for any purpose permitted by the Freedom of Information Act as amended from time to time.

(2)

To hold an executive session, a motion must be made, seconded, and adopted to go into executive session for a permitted purpose, and a like procedure shall be followed to end the executive session.

(3)

No vote shall be taken in executive session.

(Ord. No. 11-93, § 1, 3-4-93; Ord. No. 107-96, § 4, 11-12-96; Ord. No. 99-97, § 1, 9-16-97; Ord. No. 06-11, § 1, 2-15-11; Ord. No. 34-13, § 1(a), 7-16-13)