Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council on Thursday, Nov. 17, one of the most pressing issues facing the council was what to do about the vacant Seat Three on the council. Barbara Dansey, who held that seat until just days ago when her term of office expired, filed the necessary paperwork and paid the required filing fee in order to run for re-election. However, for unknown reasons, her paperwork never made it to the Madison County Supervisor of Elections Office to have her name placed on the ballot for the Tuesday, Nov. 8, election. According to the town's charter, the Town Clerk is responsible for filing candidates' paperwork with the Supervisor of Elections after candidates file at Town Hall. According to Greenville Town Manager Lee Jones, that responsibility was given to the town's office manager, Vicky Lawrence. Lawrence is no longer employed with the Town of Greenville. Another candidate, Brandi Tillman, had also filed to run for that seat. Tillman's paperwork also failed to make it into the Supervisor of Elections Office.
The Greenville Town Charter does address the possibility of a council member not serving their full term, for whatever reason. In those cases, an eligible citizen is nominated and voted on by the remaining council members. This is what happened when former Council Member Bobby Burnett resigned from the council before his term ended and Calvin Malone was selected to take his place. The Town Charter does not directly address the issue of a seat being vacant because of a term expiring and no one being elected to fill the seat.
When the matter came up on the meeting's agenda, Council Member Carl Livingston made a motion to hold a special election to fill the vacant seat. “That way, the citizens can elect who they feel like is the best candidate for the position,” said Livingston. Vice-Mayor Virginia Hamilton seconded the motion. When it was time to vote on the motion, the vote was 2-2, with Mayor Brittni Brown and Council Member Calvin Malone casting the dissenting votes. The motion failed for lack of a majority vote.
Brown passed the gavel to Hamilton in order to nominate Brandi Tillman to fill the vacant seat. Malone seconded the motion. During discussion, Livingston suggested that Brown should recuse herself, since Tillman is Brown's sister. “I don't have a legal obligation to recuse myself,” replied Brown. “[There's] not a provision of the charter that states regarding relationships. It's a known fact that my sister, Brandi Tillman, and I have actually served on this council. It's public knowledge. It's nothing I'm trying to hide. It's public knowledge. I don't have to recuse myself.” A vote on Tillman's nomination was taken and resulted in a 2-2 vote, with Livingston and Hamilton casting the dissenting votes.
Town Attorney John Reid was asked to give his opinion on what course of action the town council should take. “In this specific case, it's my position that a special election should be held to fill the seat,” said Reid.
Hamilton made another motion to hold a special election to fill the seat. Livingston seconded the motion. “I just want to be sure,” said Hamilton. “[Reid] gave us advice on how to handle [this]. I'm with the public and I think the best thing is to go with the vote.” During discussion on this motion, Brown repeated her opposition to holding a special election.
“I can't speak to what this special election would cost, but I do know what elections have cost in the past,” said Brown. “Depending on if we have early voting, the range would be between $5,000 and $8,000. That's what we've had to pay in times past. I am opposed to that additional expense, especially when we have an avenue to fill the seat without any cost.” Brown also raised the notion that a special election would not have a high turnout. “I don't know what the turnout would be. It would probably be very low. The town would spend upwards of $8,000 for 25 or 40 people to show up. To me, that wouldn't be the best use of the town's funds.” When the vote was taken, the result was another 2-2 vote, with Brown and Malone voting to deny the citizens of Greenville the opportunity to vote on the empty council seat.
Malone made a motion to fill the seat by appointment. Brown seconded the motion without yielding the gavel to the vice-mayor. The motion failed on a 2-2 vote, with Livingston and Hamilton casting the dissenting votes. With the Town Council at an obvious impasse, Mayor Brown decided to move on with the meeting's agenda. It is unknown when, or if, the matter will be resolved.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, a Greenville citizen, Nora Jones, questioned the council. “Why is [Town Manager] Jones being paid $150,000 per year?” asked Ms. Jones. There was no response from the council. Another citizen brought to the attention of the council the fact that there were some exposed wires in the new Senior Citizens Center that need to be covered. She also asked if it would be possible to provide a key to the building to the representatives from the Senior Citizens Council who bring lunches to the center each day.
Brown was given the oath of office by Town Attorney Reid to retain her council seat. She was unopposed in the recent election. The council voted to keep Brown as mayor and Hamilton as vice-mayor.
There will be a workshop meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, for the purpose of reviewing an annual review and setting goals for Town Attorney Reid.
The next regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council is scheduled to take place on Monday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in Greenville Town Hall, located at 154 SW Old Mission Ave., in Greenville.