WINNSBORO – After Fairfield County Council Chairman Clarence Gilbert refused after three weeks to appoint council’s only female member, Peggy Swearingen (Dist. 3), to any one of five council standing committees, Councilman Don Goldbach offered an amendment to the bylaws at Monday night’s county council meeting that would guarantee that all members of the council are allowed to serve on at least two of council’s five standing committees.
Goldbach’s amendment also included adding the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of council meetings and adding the Presentation Committee to the bylaws. That committee is seated by council but was never added to the bylaws.
“This amendment will allow all districts to have representation on the standing committees,” Goldbach said. “It would also spread out the workload among the seven council members so that all the work is not concentrated among three or four members. Just the math conveniently works out – 14 seats and seven council members – for each council member to be appointed to two committees.”
Councilman Doug Pauley offered a second amendment aimed at blocking any of Goldbach’s proposed changes to the bylaws except one – to add the pledge of allegiance to the council meetings.
“Let the language go forward with the addition of the motion to add the pledge of allegiance at council meetings,” Pauley said. “But to not amend the bylaws, to leave them as they are.”
Councilman Doug Ruff spoke out defending Pauley’s amendment.
“I see the value in spreading it so all council members are involved,” Pauley said. “My problem is I don’t want to see it mandated. I would rather us see this – I know that the chair after the initial appointments made changes. I understand that those changes could be made by him because no meeting had been held. Isn’t that correct?” Ruff said, turning toward County Attorney Tommy Morgan, who picked up from there.
“Yes,” Morgan said. “The changes were made because I understand some members resigned so they were not removed for cause. They resigned. And the committees did not have the requisite representation of members. They had not had a chance to take their seats on the committees, so at that point in time, pursuant to the bylaws, it was still within the chairman’s purview to fill those positions, because they had never actually sat [in a committee meeting] by virtue of the resignations.”
However, there is nothing in the bylaws to support Morgan’s explanation that because the appointees “had not had a chance to take their seats on the committees, at that point in time, pursuant to the bylaws, it was still within the chairman’s purview to fill those positions, because they had never actually sat by virtue of the resignations.” The bylaws do not speak to a length of time the chair has to make changes or whether or not the committee has met before an appointment change is made on a committee. The bylaws only state that, “Once appointed for the year, no member of a committee may be removed by the Chair of Council without the approval of Council. During the year, any vacancy occurring on these committees shall be filled in a similar manner as soon as it may reasonably be accomplished.”
Pauley’s amendment passed 5-2 with Ruff, Carl Bell, Oren Gadson, and Chairman Clarence Gilbert voting with Pauley. The same five voted to approve the resolution as amended with the only change being the addition of the pledge of allegiance at council meetings.
Goldback and Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen voted against Pauley’s amendment.
