Could a Fountain Inn mayor replace standing council committee members during the mayor’s term?

Plain-English summary

Fountain Inn's ordinance said the mayor appointed standing council committees at the first council meeting after inauguration, with the appointees serving during the mayor's term. The city attorney asked whether the mayor could change those committee assignments before the term ended.

The Attorney General relied on a 1979 opinion about an almost identical Easley ordinance. That earlier opinion said a mayor could not abolish committees created by ordinance or shorten the stated term of their members. Applying it to Fountain Inn, the AG said the mayor's power to change standing committees was severely limited by the members' specified term. The city council, however, could amend its ordinance if it wished. The opinion did not address a proposed amendment or a specific replacement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later
AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current
legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy
mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the mayor replace standing committee members midterm under the ordinance? A: The AG said the ordinance's term provision severely limited that power because committee members were appointed to serve during the mayor's term.

Could the mayor abolish a standing committee created by ordinance? A: The earlier AG opinion quoted in this letter said a mayor could not abolish an ordinance-created committee; doing so required an ordinance.

Could the city council change the appointment rule? A: Yes. The opinion said nothing prevented Fountain Inn's council from amending its ordinance.

Did the opinion address special committees?
A: The request mentioned a separate ordinance for special committees, but the AG's conclusion concerned standing committees and their specified terms.

Background and statutory framework

The city operated under a mayor-council government. Section 2-112 of its local code governed standing committee appointments, while Section 2-111 covered special committees. The opinion turned on the quoted appointment language and the earlier AG reading of equivalent language in Easley's ordinance.

Citations and references

The opinion quoted Fountain Inn Code § 2-112 and a South Carolina AG opinion dated April 17, 1979. The original PDF contains the quoted local provision and prior analysis.

Official title

Asking whether the mayor is prohibited from making changes to standing committees during his term of office.

Requester

Andrew G. Goodson, Esquire

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/november-20-1998/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/98nov20goodson.pdf

Original opinion text

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The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
'HARLES M. CONDON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

November 20, 1998

Andrew G. Goodson, Esquire
Fountain Inn City Attorney
P.O. Box 549
Fountain Inn, South Carolina 29644

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RE:

Informal Opinion

Dear Mr. Goodson:

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Your opinion request has been forwarded to me for reply. As city attorney for the City of Fountain Inn, you have been asked by the Mayor and Council to obtain guidance regarding certain provisions of the Fountain Inn Code of Ordinances. Specifically, you ask whether the mayor is prohibited from making changes to standing committees during his term of office. In your request, you state the following: The City of Fountain Inn operates a Mayor/Council form of Government. Council members are required to serve on both standing and special committees. Section 2-111 of the Code of Ordinances allows appointment of special committees and Section 2-112 allows appointment of standing committees. Section 2-112 states as follows: "The standing committees of the council shall be appointed by the Mayor at the first meeting of the council after his inauguration, to serve during his term of office."

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Mr. Goodson
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November 20, 1998

In an opinion dated April 17, 1979, this Office addressed several questions relating to the role of the mayor in the mayor-council form ofgovernment in city council committees. In response to one of the questions posed, this Office concluded:

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I understand that standing committees of the Easley City Council have been provided for by municipal ordinance and that that ordinance provides that those standing committees are to be appointed by the mayor at the beginning of his term to serve during his term of office. In my opinion, the mayor has no authority to, in effect, abolish those committees since they are created by ordinance and, consequently, must be abolished by ordinance. Cf., 5 McQUILLIN MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS § 15.14 (3rd ed. 1969). Moreover, if the ordinance provides that the members of the standing committees are to serve during the mayor's term of office. then they have a specified term of office which cannot be shortened or ended by the mayor. (emphasis added). It would appear that the above stated conclusion would be applicable to your question as well. There, as here, an ordinance set forth the appointment powers of the mayor in regards to standing committees and included language that the appointees are to serve during the mayor's term of office. Therefore, based on the 1979 opinion, the mayor's power to make changes to the standing committees would be severely limited by the fact that the members of the standing committees have a specified term of office which cannot be shortened or ended by the mayor. Of course, nothing precludes the Fountain Inn city council from amending this ordinance if they so desire.

This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated assistant attorney general and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific questions asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a formal opinion. With kindest regards, I remain

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Paul M. Koch
Assistant Attorney General

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