Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Admitting the mistake is the right thing, and we trust an honest mistake was made and a lesson was learned that will benefit county council and the public going forward.
We, as well as a county resident, were critical of Abbeville County Council’s decision to head behind closed doors in October to effectively reconsider how much in accommodations tax dollars it would dole out to the Chamber of Commerce. That body had sought a $55,000 allocation, which council reduced to $25,000. A Chamber representative present at that meeting voiced disappointment about the decision, which then led to council’s vote to enter into executive session to discuss the matter. That vote was in clear violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act, which clearly defines what public bodies can discuss behind closed doors.
Chairman Billy Norris addressed the matter in a story published on Tuesday’s front page, saying, “That was a mistake that I made. I didn’t know what exactly what the discussion was going to be about. It slipped past me and the other council members.”
It was not until council returned to open session and voted to increase the Chamber’s allocation by $5,000, Norris said, that he realized the closed-door meeting was unwarranted.
Norris, who has served 17 years on council, said the October closed-door meeting was the only time executive session was incorrectly used.
We’re willing to give Norris and council members the benefit of the doubt here and will hold Norris to his word. “As long as I’m chairman, we won’t ever do that again,” he told an Index-Journal reporter.
That said, we do hope Norris, members of council and most especially W. Lee Roper, the attorney who is paid to help steer council away from rocky shores and keep it in legal channels, are keeping a fresh copy of the Freedom of Information Act handy. Here again, we suggest they have the guide to compliance with the law that the state press association provides for public officials. It helps cut through some of the legalese and casts the law in more easily digestible language.
