Monthly Archives: August 2023

August 2023, City Government

Much More than a Figurehead, Far Less than a King

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The Mayor of Aiken’s Powers, Roles, and Limitations.

by Don Moniak

August 31, 2023

On August 22nd, Ms. Teddy Milner won, by fourteen votes, a runoff election for the Republican nomination for Mayor of the City of Aiken. Barring a successful write-in campaign from a new candidate, she will become the fourth Mayor of Aiken in the past 46 years; and the first female Mayor.

The impending change in power warrants a look at the Mayor’s roles, limitations, and powers, as defined by the City of Aiken’s Municipal Code.

In summary, the Mayor of Aiken is: 

  • The ceremonial face of the city. 
  • The presiding officer at City Council meetings, but this role can be revoked by other Council members. 
  • A member of City Council with a single vote and no veto powers. 

The Mayor can declare a state of emergency. 

The Mayor, and the rest of City Council, have no authority over city employees, and can not interfere except to call for a inquiries and investigations. Employees can only be hired, fired, promoted, demoted, or transferred by the Aiken City Manager; a law that protects civil servants from undue pressure from elected officials.

Following are some details of the Mayor’s roles, limitations, and powers, as identified in Aiken Municipal Code.

I. Ceremonial and Signatory Roles

Section 2-39 of the City’s Municipal Code describes the general function of the Mayor:

“The mayor shall be recognized as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law, and shall execute all official documents of the city, but shall have no regular administrative duties.” 

The Mayor of Aiken is responsible, along with the City Clerk and City Attorney, for signing all ordinances and resolutions passed by City Council. 

The Mayor also serves as the ceremonial head of the City, which can include ribbon cuttings, charitable events, and other promotional opportunities. The frequent photo ops and free publicity surrounding this role contribute to the power of incumbency. 

II. Emergency Powers

Under Section 2-40, the Mayor has the authority to declare a state of emergency in response to a public crisis,

This authority is rarely exercised. The SC Governor’s office exercises this pro-active role. The mere threat of an emergency from a hurricane, for or other weather phenomenon, for example, can trigger a state-wide or regional state of emergency—usually for the purposes of activating the emergency response system and possible FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) involvement and funding.

Still, it is a serious responsibility that should not be overlooked.

III. Presiding Officer

The Mayor’s primary role is leading City Council through the local legislative process. 

The Mayor is the Presiding Officer at public meetings where ordinances and resolutions are discussed and either approved or disapproved. 

Section 2-64 defines the Rules of Order and the Rules of Procedure for City Council meetings. The Mayor is designated as the presiding officer at Council meetings. If the Mayor is absent, the Mayor Pro Tem (Councilman Ed Woltz at present) assumes the role. If both are absent, remaining members select a temporary replacement. 

This legal designation of Mayor as presiding officer is not absolute. The presiding officer status can be revoked by other City Council members:

“However, city council may, upon motion passed by a two-thirds majority of all council members serving, elect a council chairperson and vice-chairperson who shall then serve as presiding officer at all future meetings until the next general or special election at which any member of the council, including the mayor, is elected and takes office.” (Section 2-64(a)(3))

This action has never happened, but remains a legal possibility. 

Presiding officers can also be removed by a majority vote of Council if they fail to act on an agenda item, not recognize a motion to approve, or “in any other way refuses to conduct the meeting in accordance with these rules” of order and proceedings. 

No matter who is the presiding officer, they are legally responsible for adhering to City Code mandating the use of Roberts Rules of Order to conduct meetings. This includes recognizing citizens who wish to speak during comment periods, reading titles of ordinances and resolutions into the record, asking for motions from Council, and calling for votes on any agenda items requiring one. 

The presiding officer also has the sole authority to warn any individual that their conduct is considered “disruptive.” If the disruptive behavior continues, the presiding officer has the authority to summon the police, but not the sole authority. City Council can also summon the police with a majority vote. 

IV.  Authority over city employees. 

Neither the Mayor of Aiken nor City Council—to which the Mayor belongs—can hire or fire any employee, except for the City Manager. 

The City of Aiken employs a Council-Manager form of governance. 

The City Manager is “the chief administrative officer and the head of the administrative branch of the city government…responsible to the Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the city;” and “shall have the power and shall be required to appoint and, when necessary for the good of the public, remove all officers and emplovees of the city.” (Aiken Municipal Code. Section 2-248) 

Section 2-113(1) of the Municipal code states “All employees of the city are employed at-will and may resign or be discharged from employment at any time.” 

Employees report to and are supervised by the City Manager or his department heads, but can only be terminated by the City Manager.

The Mayor and the rest of Aiken City Council are prohibited from interfering with the City Manager’s authority over employees, except for the purposes of inquiry and investigation: 

“Neither the council nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from, office by the city manager or any of subordinates, or in any manner take part in the appointment or removal of officers and employees in the administrative service of the city. Except for the purposes fo inquiry and investigation, the council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the city manager and neither the council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates fo the city manager, either publicly or privately. (Municipal Code Section 2-42)

Section 2-37(3) details the inquiry and investigation exception: 

City Council “may inquire and investigate the conduct of any city council, department or agency and make investigations as to municipal affairs.” 

Moderating Citizen Comments.

Public comment is a constant at City Council meetings. It occurs during public hearings and twice each meeting citizens can address Council on items not on the agenda. The latter substantially exceeds the public input rules of most other South Carolina municipalities.

Prior to 2016, Citizens did not speak directly to City Council, with their back turned to the audience. (top photo). Comments and speeches were made from the right side of Council’s dais, where City staff presently sits. (bottom photo).

In this arrangement, citizens are speaking to both Council and the audience, and the audience can better view and hear the speaker. Several Aiken residents in the past year have asked for a return to the pre-2016 system.

An Aiken resident raises concerns, with back to the audience, regarding the controversial Farmer’s Market “tree massacre.” Aiken City Attorney and Meeting Parliamentarian Gary Smith can be seen using his cell phone (fourth from the left).
An Aiken resident expresses his views, to both Council and the audience, regarding a proposal to reimburse Woodside Property Owners Association with FEMA funds for ice storm costs on their private road system, October 27, 2014.




Feature photo: Former City of Aiken Mayor Fred Cavanaugh reading from a list of questions submitted in writing by Aiken residents during a June, 2014 public meeting.
August 2023, Nature News

Webs of Life

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by Burt Glover
August 27, 2023

There are some who might accuse me of being easily amused. Okay, I’ll just plead guilty to that, here and now, but hear me out. This is day five that I’ve witnessed a leaf from the Water Oak tree in my front yard spinning from the end of a 6-inch-long strand of spider web. Five days of spinning in the late summer breezes like a whirly-gig, and the strand of silk holds steady. No visible twisting or breakage. Aren’t spider webs amazing? For that matter, aren’t the spiders that spin them amazing?

That spinning leaf is only one of many in my tree. Like it or not, spiders, and their webs, are everywhere. Go out on a foggy morning when the sun is just beginning to break through and you will see so many thousands of spider webs streaming off of trees, weeds, porch ceilings, and power lines; webs strewn across the fields like so many handkerchiefs in the morning sun, silk trailing from every conceivable surface. Many surveys have been done to estimate spider populations. On the conservative side, there is the figure of 6 to 10 spiders per square meter. That translates to 40,461 spiders per acre of land. Some estimates go much higher. An entomological survey of North Carolina homes found spiders in 100% of the homes surveyed. Spiders are everywhere! Likely there is one watching you from a nearby corner as you read this. 

Spider silk is several times stronger than any other known silk. Its strength is five times that of similar diameter steel, or any other man-made substance, but is extremely stretch resistant and lightweight at the same time. A spider web might contain several types of silk — a softer, sticky silk to capture prey, and stronger silk to attach the web from stem to branch. The tensile strength of the silk of the golden orb weaver is said to be among the strongest. I can attest to this.

One recent autumn, I found the remains of an enormous and elaborately woven web of a golden orb weaver. The web had been held aloft by powerful “guy wires,” one of which was strung a 15-foot distance from the barn soffit to the limb of a tulip poplar. Fallen poplar leaves had become entangled in the saffron-colored silk. The sight of it drew my curiosity. I had to tug really hard to detach it from the tree. It never broke. The silk had the look, feel and strength of synthetic sewing thread and was easily as strong. I put a strand of blue sewing thread beside it for comparison.

I found a photo of a cape that was woven from golden orb weaver silk. Look closely to see the hand-sewn brocade spiders. This cape was part of a project in Madagascar that took years and the silk of over a million golden orb weaver spiders to complete. The methods for extracting the silk from spiders, while presented as benign in a video on this project, seem anything but or I’d go into more detail.

Many studies are ongoing to produce bullet-proof vests from spider silk. Silkworms, when gathered together, are totally non-competitive, freely spinning their silk. Spiders are not as hospitable, tending to want to eat each other. Not good for mass production. The human solution? Insert spider silk-producing genes into goat embryos. When grown to adults, these goats will produce milk from which spider web proteins can be extracted. These Frankensteinian experiments are ongoing, but it is foretold that, someday, we will all be wearing spider silk clothing. 

Meanwhile, I will spend my time watching my spinning leaves and admiring the hardworking creatures that produce them. I cannot help but fall in love with the teddy bear-like jumping spiders that hop about the porch railing, watching me with a curiosity that matches my own.

There, too, are the beautiful black and yellow garden spiders, Agriopes, spinning and mending their late-summer webs. Nearby is a green lynx spider poised on the petal of a water hyacinth. Down below are the ferocious wolf spiders, there to keep the populations of less desirable insects in check. Inside my house are the southern house spiders who oversee the crevices and crannies, snaring insect intruders in the house.

Worldwide, spiders are estimated to eat 400,000 to 800.000 tons of prey per year. (The Titanic weighed 52,000 tons.) At the same time, these huge populations of spiders provide a major food source for birds, lizards, toads, frogs, dragonflies, etc. It is all about life and living. It may be trivial to some, but our survival as humans may well depend on spiders and the continuity of this chain of life. 

I defer to the words of E. B. White in his reference to writing Charlotte’s Web (a story that many of us should probably read again and again):

“Once you begin watching spiders, you haven’t time for much else– the world is really loaded with them. I do not find them repulsive or revolting, any more than I find anything else in nature repulsive or revolting, and I think that it is too bad that children are often corrupted by their elders in this hate campaign.” 

Contributor Burt Glover became an accidental naturalist during his earliest childhood days exploring the dirt roads, backyards, polo field and barns of the Magnolia-Knox-Mead neighborhood of 1950s Aiken. Birds are his first love, and he can identify an impressive range by song alone. He asserts that he is an observer, not an expert, on the topics of his writings, which range from birds, box turtles, frogs and foraging, to wasps, weeds, weather and beyond.

August 2023, Elections

ELECTION DAY LETTERS OF SUPPORT: TEDDY MILNER FOR MAYOR OF AIKEN

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As we head into the finish line today on this important race, the question comes down to this: Which of the two candidates offers a vision for a vibrant downtown that is friendly to small business; a vision that protects the crown jewels of our parkways, trees, and historic structures; a vision for thoughtful, deliberate, well-planned growth; a vision of a City government that listens and responds to the people it serves; a vision that understands the importance of openness, honesty, and humility in earning the people’s trust?

Bob Gilbert: Put an End to Costly and Inept Misadventures

If a citizen thinks it would be a good thing to continue the dominance of the Aiken political machine, he/she might not want to vote for Teddy Milner.  If, on the other hand, that citizen thinks that it would be beneficial to put an end to the current city administration’s arrogance, mendacity, malfeasance, and maladroitness, then that person would want to vote for Teddy Milner.  The reign of the incumbent has been marked by costly and inept misadventures in the acquisition and sale of properties, and has fostered an atmosphere of acrimony and secrecy in the public square.  

Bob Gilbert
Aiken SC

__________________

Valerie Wrobel: Taxpayers First

I support Teddy Milner and ask all everyone to vote for her tomorrow, August 22, as Aiken’s new Mayor.  

Our beautiful city is in danger with our current Mayor.  I believe Mayor Osbon started out well and had the best of intentions, but I also believe he has been led astray by a local “good ole boy” network. His decisions over the last couple of years benefit the developers and investors far more than the tax-paying citizens of Aiken.

For example, the City made the decision to sell a right-of-way property for $1 dollar to a firm represented by the city attorney’s law partner, Bear Mountain Realty. The company wants to build a warehouse. Any developer would have quickly paid $50,000 or $100,000 for that needed right-of-way, but no, our city leaders gave it to him for a dollar by arguing about all the money we will make on water and sewer bills will surely be a benefit.  

This is rubbish; we could have had a payment for the right of way AND the funds from the water/sewer bills, but no, let’s help out one of the good ole boys!  Makes one wonder about the motivation? What unspoken rewards are there for all who get these dubious proposals approved? This is just one example, but it’s infuriating and not good for Aiken!

The current Mayor was also in favor of giving away a part of Newberry Street to the city attorney’s law partner(s) & investors. This was not a good idea. There have been way too many conflicts of interest where the citizens have to question over and over again who our city leaders work for. Is it tax-paying citizens or the small group of developers who seem to have their hands in the city coffers? 

The “mass home developments” – where up to 8 homes are on an acre of land are good for no one but the initial developers and builders; they are not good for our area, and not good to suddenly cram 1000 extra students into a school district, etc. 

 One solution if more housing is needed – put them on larger tracts so they can have a private well and a private septic system.  This cost the city taxpayer NOTHING.  The communities will have room for trees and privacy and ultimately hold their value, so it is a sound investment for a young family, for instance.  Need housing for retirees or horse people? Create developments with at least 5-8 acres so there is room for horses!  This type of development would be good for Aiken in the long term.  This mass housing is a scam and destined to be detrimental; as mentioned, it’s only good and profitable for the initial developers and builders, period! 

I could go on and on, but my letter would be ten pages long, so I beg you, please read and investigate before you go to the polls tomorrow, and I feel confident you will surmise that we need a change; we need new leadership, we need a new Mayor for the city of Aiken SC.

Respectfully,
Valerie Wrobel
Aiken, SC

__________________

Don Moniak: Support Preparedness and Improved Governance.

Last Thursday night I attended the Schofield Community Association’s Mayoral forum at the Smith-Hazel center.

The agenda for the forum started with two-minute introductory statements, was followed by a Q and A session involving twelve questions prepared by the neighborhood Association, and ending with audience questions and answers.

The neighborhood Assocation had submitted their questions to the Candidates. Teddy Milner arrived prepared to answer each question, and read her answers in full, stating she did not want to omit anything.

Her answers consistently contained the theme of more citizen involvement in their government, more openness from their government, and better governance. The answers were focused, direct, and marked by a refreshing brevity.

In terms of better governance, Ms. Milner simply stated she would better conduct public meetings, and expressed her support for an in-house City attorney to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interests. Mayor Osbon has not commented to date on this issue, and appears content with the status quo.

In terms of more openness, Ms. Milner committed to avoiding closed-door, Executive Sessions that characterize the approach of today’s City Council. There is no mandate in state Open Meetings law to meet behind closed doors, the law says “may meet,” not “shall meet.”

Most importantly, Ms. Milner maintained her poise and projected confidence in undertaking the task of representing the City and being the Presiding Officer at City Council meetings.

The latter role is often undervalued and overlooked. The Mayor’s primary duty is to lead the legislative process. Public meetings are dominated by the passage, or rejection, of city ordinances. Meetings should not be treated as a necessary means to rubber stamping pre-conceived decisions. They should be a genuine means to gather and consider information on any proposal, any issue, and any proposed law.

At the current time, this does not happen. Decisions are often made long before they reach Council. This is particularly true of projects involving the Aiken Corporation, such as the decision to forgive a $245,000 loan in exchange for Aiken Corporation paying $45,000 to purchase a property for the sole purpose of bridging the gap that otherwise prevented annexation of the new Aiken Steeplechase Foundation property.

While there is a provision in City code to appoint temporary, independent committees strictly to conduct informational public hearings, this option is not pursued and not on the table with the current administration.

Teddy Milner committed to using this option or others like it. That is a commitment to solicit and utilize the deep expertise and knowledge that the City of Aiken and Aiken County as a whole is fortunate to have. The City of Aiken should never be ignoring citizens who come forth and offer their knowledge and expertise to address problems like broken water mains and rusty water.

Don Moniak
Aiken County, 29801

August 2023, City Government

Teddy Milner on the Issues: 12 Questions, 12 Answers

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The Schofield Community Association (SCA) recently hosted a Meet-and-Greet/Mayoral Forum for Teddy Milner(R) and Rick Osbon(R), the two candidates in tomorrow’s Republican primary runoff. The SCA provided both candidates with twelve questions in advance of the meeting. Teddy Milner’s answers to these questions, provided in written form, are viewable on the Teddy Milner for Mayor of Aiken Facebook page and also below, in screenshots, for the benefit of local citizens who were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting.

NOTE: Click on each screenshot for a full-size view.

First, a few words from Teddy’s page….

Question One

Question Two

Question Three

Question Four

Question Five

Question Six

Question Seven

Question Eight

Question Nine

Question Ten

Question Eleven

Question Twelve

August 2023, City Government, Editorials

The Campaign Flyer 

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“ It’s Not Mine.” Mayor Osbon Denies His Own Campaign Flyer While Supporters Shout Down A District One Citizen.

by Don Moniak*
August 21, 2023

Updated August 21 to add video clip of meeting

There were several intriguing and prominent moments at the Schofield Community Association’s (SCA) Mayoral Candidate Forum held at the Smith Hazel Center this past Thursday evening. But one exchange stood out above the rest.

The forum was held just five days prior to the runoff election between Teddy Milner (R) and incumbent Mayor Rick Osbon (R), to be held Tuesday August 22nd.  All registered City of Aiken voters can cast their ballot.

Candidates first answered twelve questions prepared by SCA and submitted in advance to the candidates. Candidate Milner (R) was prepared for the meeting with written, researched answers, while Candidate Osbon (R) improvised.

Following the answers to SCA’s questions, the forum turned to the audience question-and-answer portion of the meeting.

“That’s not my flyer.”

The Campaign Flyer: It Was Not His Until it Was His. 

The first question was directed to Mayor Rick Osbon and regarded a campaign flyer featuring his image, phone number, the signature “Rick,” his home address on the return stamp, and the required “Paid For by Rick Osbon for Mayor Committee.”

There was no reason to believe it was not his campaign’s flyer. 

Mayor Osbon examined the flyer. His subsequent statements included; 

  • “That is not mine.” 
  • “ I’m telling you that’s not my flyer,” 
  • “Look at how blurry it is.”
  • “I’m telling you that’s not me” 
  • “I’m telling you I didn’t send it out.”

Amidst his answers one of his supporters shouted “It’s a scam.”

Mayor Osbon supporters continued to shout over the proceedings, repeating “It’s not his.”

According to an Aiken Standard report, after the meeting Mayor Osbon privately admitted to “an Aiken Standard reporter” that the literature was from his campaign.  The admission was reported on Page Five, two paragraphs from the bottom of the report (below).

Meeting Dynamics: If you see Something, Say Something. 

City Council members Gail Diggs (D) and Ed Girardeau (R) were in the audience seated two chairs apart, with an Osbon supporter in between. 

Earlier in the week Mr. Osbon had identified Mr. Girardeau as one of “twenty conservative Republicans” who had endorsed his reelection.

On August 17th, Ms. Diggs encouraged citizens to vote while posting a different Mayor Osbon campaign flyer on her Facebook page.

Both Councilmembers remained silent throughout the ruckus, which would have warranted a police summons at a Council meeting. 

Gail Diggs said three times at City Council’s August 14th meeting: “If you see something, say something.“

Democrat Gail Diggs sat silently as the Republican Mayor tolerated his supporters shouting down a resident of her district. 

Neither Ms. Diggs nor Mr. Girardeau appeared to examine the flyer as it passed a few rows in front of them; even after a citizen sitting two rows ahead stated “It says Osbon for Mayor.”

I wrote to Ms. Diggs via email the next day. I asked if Mayor Osbon had been asked to issue an apology to the audience and to a citizen from her district who had been misled and harangued by the Mayor’s supporters. I also wrote that, in this case, “Silence is Complicity.”

To her credit, Ms. Diggs replied. She wrote that she could not speak for the Mayor, but that she had apologized to her constituent. 

I also emailed Mr. Osbon with questions about the flyer, prior to knowing he had privately admitted the flyer was his. He has not responded.

* Disclosure: Don Moniak is a member of the Schofield Community Association, which is open to all Aiken County residents. He does not represent the association nor write on its behalf.