Council Votes to Defund Several Positions
BLYTHEWOOD – Following a story published in The Voice on Nov. 21, 2024, titled ‘SLED investigating BW’s newly hired Dep. Admin,’ Tiffany Cooks, who had been hired for that position three weeks earlier by Mayor Sloan Griffin without council’s knowledge, notified the Town that she is withdrawing from the position.
Griffin issued a press release on Thursday, Dec. 5, stating that he “expresses his gratitude to Dr. Tiffany Cooks for her willingness to engage in the selection process for Deputy Administrator, while also addressing the troubling circumstances that led to her decision not to pursue the role further.”
According to council members, there were 16 applicants for the position, but Cooks had not applied.
“Dr. Cooks, along with her family, friends, and church family, has endured unwarranted suffering due to claims made by certain members of the Council and the media,” said Mayor Griffin. “These baseless accusations—made in connection to a Williamsburg County request for SLED to investigate a claim—have created an atmosphere of judgment and speculation. This type of rhetoric jeopardizes reputations and threatens livelihoods, potentially causing individuals to lose their jobs and their ability to care for their families.”
The press release went on to say that “Mayor Griffin expressed his concern and disappointment over the actions of some members of the Town Council and the local media, whose unfounded claims have caused unnecessary harm.” Griffin did not say specifically what claims were unfounded.
The Voice was the only Blythewood ‘local media’ to report that Crooks is being investigated by SLED. The Nov. 21 story revealed that a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) spokesperson told The Voice that Cooks is undergoing a criminal investigation. The Voice was not given any specifics about why Cooks is being investigated other than to say it had been prompted by a call from Kelvin Washington, Cooks’ successor as the Williamsburg County supervisor, on Feb. 10, 2023, to investigate the case. The investigation was formally opened on Feb. 28, 2024.
The Town was seeking to fill the Assistant Town Administrator position, not a Deputy Administrator. It was not until Griffin hired Cooks that he arbitrarily changed the position title to Deputy Administrator, a position that was not funded by the Town’s budget. After two of the 16 applicants turned down offers from the Town because they received counter offers from their current employers, Griffin then hired Cooks who was not one of the applicants.
In a special called meeting on Dec. 5, town council members voted 4-0 (Griffin was not present) to pass the first of two readings to amend the Town’s current budget effecting a staff reduction to eliminate certain full-time positions that had been funded in the budget: assistant administrator, assistant to the administrator, human resources director, and lobbyist.
Two other positions that were arbitrarily filed by Griffin – deputy administrator and multi-media specialist – were not funded by the budget.