In an epic meltdown, Anderson County Councilwoman Gracie Floyd accused other members of Anderson County Council of not serving their constituents during a 30-minute impassioned presentation Tuesday night during the regularly scheduled council meeting.
“The reason I am doing this is because I am tired,” Floyd said. “I ask questions. How can you serve people when they don't see you serve?
They vote for everything, they ask no questions. If y’all are satisfied sitting here watching them raise their hands, go ahead.”
Floyd also accused Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn of bullying her during the April 5 county council meeting, during which she walked out, for not allowing her to continue asking questions on an allocation for recreation equipment to children in the City of Anderson by Anderson County Council by Anderson County Councilman Francis Crowder.
“I will not be bullied,” Floyd said. “Bring it on. I refuse to be told to be quiet.”
“You can get rid of me, if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine. If you are not satisfied with me, vote me out. Are the people in my district are going to let this person bully a person who has been on council for 16 years and sit there and not say anything?”
Meanwhile, Anderson County Council approved on second reading an ordinance to change county council terms from two years to four years. The new terms would be staggered so that council elections would be help so that all of council would not be elected during the same cycle.
“This is giving the people of Anderson County a chance to vote on what they want,” said Anderson County Councilman Ken Waters.
“This gives people a choice,” Dunn said.
Also on Tuesday night, council also approved, on second reading, the formation of the Anderson County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau currently operates under Innovate Anderson. If approved on third reading, the Anderson County Convention and Visitors Bureau would become a legal organization accountable to county council.
Anderson County Councilwoman Gracie Floyd, who questioned the ordinance on first reading, Tuesday night expressed her concerns about the move, saying it was “unclear.”
The ordinance passed by a vote of 6-1, with Floyd opposing.
Anderson County Councilman Tom Allen reported on the South Carolina Department of Transportation audit conducted by the Legislative Audit Council. Allen said the highlights of the 300-page document includes the following key findings:
While South Carolina roads have deteriorated significantly since 2008, the state continues to spend a large portion of funding adding miles of roads instead of maintaining current roads.
SCDOT does not follow a prioritized list of road projects and often takes lower priority projects.
SCDOT does not re-evaluate projects to see if changes need to be changed and if these are still valid. Allen gave the example of the proposed roundabout at Brown Road and Kings Road. “We don’t need a $2.2 Million roundabout now,” Allen said. “That was taken care of by East-West Parkway. They don’t re-evaluate.
The SCDOT internal auditing function is ineffective, due to impaired independence authority of auditor.
SCDOT is heavily reliant on state tax and federal money, which do not adjust for inflation, and a gas tax is regressive. The audit found there are alternative revenue sources, other monies that could be moved into transportation side of the house.
“We’ll see here over the next few weeks what happens down in Columbia to see if any of this actually gets straightened out,” Allen said.
Also on Tuesday night, council:
Approved on second reading, an ordinance to authorize and accept the transfer of authority to conduct municipal elections scheduled for November of odd numbered years for the Town of Pelzer to the Anderson County Registration and Elections Board.
Approved on second reading an ordinance to authorize Anderson County to obtain a loan from the Brownfields revolving loan fund administered by the Catawba Regional Council of Governments for environmental cleanup at the Toxaway Mill Site and the Pelzer Mill Site.
Approved a resolution expressing intent to cease county maintenance on and to authorize county consent to judicial abandonment and closure of Milldenhall Road (designated C-04-0095A).
Approved an $80,000 grant for a federal fund to update the Emergency Disaster Plan.