Committee: No support for Swails' proposal for referendum

MOUNT PLEASANT — Mayor Billy Swails' proposal for a referendum on whether residents support changing the town form of government to a strong mayor/weak council got no support from three other Council members Monday morning at a meeting of the Police, Judicial & Legal Committee.

Council members Chris Nickels, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall and Elton Carrier said they saw no compelling reason to authorize a public vote on the issue. They said that they thought the current weak mayor system worked fine.

A strong mayor has powers that include presiding over Council, appointment and removal of employees and supervision of departments. He prepares and submits a budget and capital improvements program, makes an annual financial report to the public and council and reports to council on department operations, according to the Municipal Association of South Carolina.

Charleston and North Charleston have the strong mayor system.

Swails said the town needs an elected, full-time executive who has the power to make decisions on the run and not go through Council for everything. Mount Pleasant has reached a 'tipping point' on the issue because it has become the fourth largest municipality in the state with a buget of $60 million.

Swails said his request for the referendum was not a power grab. He said if the town did change to a strong mayor system, he would not seek another term because he could not work full-time as an insurance agent and mayor.

Mount Pleasant's eight Council members and the mayor are elected at-large, which means each member of Council represents the entire city. Under the current weak mayor system, Swails presides over meetings, performs ceremonial duties and calls special meetings but has no significant power under law beyond that of other Council members.

Swails said his request was not a reflection on town staff.

"We have a great administrator," he said.

As an alternative to a Council vote in support of a referendum, Swails discussed a provision in state law that provides for a referendum if 15 percent of registered voters sign a petition calling for a ballot on changing to the strong mayor system. Mount Pleasant has 30,000 registered voters.

"We just need to see what our citizens think," he said.

Stokes-Marshall said a strong mayor system would diminish Council's ability to have an open, equal exchange of information. She noted that no constituents have contacted her about the need for such a change.

Read more in Tuesday's editions of The Post and Courier.