Could a Johns Island resident serve on the St. John’s Fire Commission after the property was annexed into Charleston?

Plain-English summary

A St. John's Fire Commission member lived on Johns Island, but the member's area had been annexed by Charleston. The request said the member no longer lived within the fire district and received city fire protection instead. The Attorney General was asked whether living on Johns Island alone qualified the person to serve.

The AG read the 1978 act creating the commission's membership rules to impose two conditions. The person had to reside on Johns Island for one of its designated seats and be a qualified elector of the fire district. The opinion said qualified-elector status required residence inside the district. On the facts given, island residency alone was insufficient after annexation removed the member's home from district boundaries.

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

Was living on Johns Island enough for a commission seat? A: No. The AG said a Johns Island appointee also had to be a qualified elector of the fire district.

What did qualified-elector status require here?
A: The opinion said it required residence within the fire district, in addition to the seat's island-residency requirement.

Did city annexation matter?
A: Yes in the described situation. The request said annexation placed the member's home outside the fire district, so the AG concluded the district-residency condition was unmet.

Background and statutory framework

Act 727 of 1978 provided for seven fire commissioners, with seats assigned among Johns, Seabrook, Wadmalaw, and Kiawah islands. It required all commissioners to be qualified electors of the district. The opinion applied those words to a Johns Island member whose residence was no longer inside the fire district.

Citations and references

The opinion quoted Act 727 of 1978 and cited § 7-5-120 on elector qualifications. The original PDF contains the full local-act passage.

Official title

Concerning the St. John’s Fire District.

Requester

The Honorable McKinley Washington, Jr., Senator, District No. 45 and Donald  H. Howe, Esquire

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/november-9-1998/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/98nov9washington.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CH A RL ES M . C ON DON
ATTO RNEY G EN ERA L

November 9. 1998

The Honorable McKinley Washington, Jr.
Senator, District No. 45
P.O. Box 247
Ravenel, South Carolina 29470
Donald H. Howe, Esquire
Post Office Box 598
Charleston, South Carolina 29402

Re:

Informal Opinion

Gentlemen:
This Office has received opinion requests from both of you concerning the St. John ' s Fire District. We have been informed that a question has arisen regarding the appointment of a member of the St. John's Fire Commission. The member in question lives in a portion
. of Johns Island that has been annexed by the City of Charleston. Due to this annexation, the member no longer lives within the boundaries of the Fire District and his fire protection is now being provided by the City of Charleston rather than the Fire District. The question asked of this Office is whether an individual need only be a resident of Johns Island to serve on the Fire District Commission or whether an individual must reside within the Fire District to properly serve on the Fire District Commission. The St. John 's Fire District was created by Act No. 369of1959. The Act has been amended on several occasions, including by Act 727 of 1978. Act 727 provides in pertinent part as follows: "Section 4. The district shall be governed by the St. John ' s Fire Commission which shall consist of seven qualified electors of the district, four of whom shall be residents of Johns Island, one of whom shall be a resident of Seabrook Island, one of whom shall be a resident ofWadmalaw Island and one of whom shall be a resident of Kiawah Island .. .." (emphasis added).

J

R EMBERT =~IS B l'ILDING

~~~.....

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POST OFFICE Box

11549

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C OLUMBI A,

s.c. 292 11-1 549 • T ELEPHONE: 803 -734-3970

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FACS IMILE: 803-253-6283

The Honorable McKinley Washington, Jr.
Donald H. Howe, Esquire
Page2
November 9, 1998

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Act 727 sets forth two requirements for the appointment of a resident of Johns Island
to the Fire Commission. The individual in question must not only be a resident of Johns
Island, but must also be a qualified elector of the Fire District. One of the factors needed to
be a qualified elector is residence within the appropriate political unit. See Ops. Any. Gen.
Dated April 16, 1982 and March 24, 1980; See also S.C. Const. art. XVII,§ l; S.C. Code
Ann.§ 7-5-120. Therefore, residence on Johns Island, in and of itself, is not enough in this
situation. The individual would also have to be a qualified elector of the Fire District. This
would require that the individual reside within the Fire District.
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
Very truly yours,

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Paul M. Koch
Assistant Attorney General