Mayor Doug Echols, Rock Hill

The Commission on Columbia City Government, chaired by former Columbia Mayor Patton Adams, met Tuesday afternoon for the third time. The commission was put together by Columbia Mayor Bob Coble to investigate the feasibility of restructuring Columbia city government from its council–manager form to one comparable to Charleston’s strong mayor system.

The first meeting, last month, was to get organized and get oriented. The second meeting, two weeks later, was to hear from members of Columbia City Council. The commission meets every other Tuesday in the offices of the Municipal Association of SC on Gervais Street.

Mayor Keith Summey, North Charleston The commission’s third meeting this past Tuesday heard from elected and appointed municipal officials from across SC. First on the agenda was Doug Echols, Rock Hill’s mayor.

Echols shared Rock Hill’s worries over the reduction of the textile industry in York County. He also expressed concerns over Rock Hill’s tight proximity with Charlotte. “It’s like a campfire,” he said. “Get close enough for comfort, but don’t get so close you get burned.”

Echols described Rock Hill’s government as similar to Columbia’s council–manager, and he had no complaints.

Manager Tom Leath, Myrtle Beach Second on the agenda was North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, where the city government is like Charleston’s strong mayor form. Summey advocated North Charleston’s governmental form as an ideal fit for SC’s third largest city with a population of 85,000. He said a strong mayor is more accountable, more responsive, and a strong mayor can’t pass the buck.

Summey cited the automatic term limits feature of a strong mayor form of municipal government. If the mayor fails, the voting public terminates him at the next election.

Administrator Mac Burdette, Mount Pleasant Following was Mac Burdette, Mount Pleasant administrator, where the municipal government is called the council form. Burdette liked his system’s term limits because firing an administrator immediately upon failure is easier and quicker than waiting for the next election.

Sam Davis, Columbia City Council, appeared as a proponent of Columbia’s council–manager form of government. His main fear of the strong mayor system lay in the potential for corruption. One corrupt mayor, and you get four years of corruption, Davis said.

The city manager of Myrtle Beach, Tom Leath, was described by some as SC’s best city manager. He said cities are service–delivery corporations, essentially. He was a proponent of Myrtle Beach’s council– manager government, which came close to the governments in San Antonio, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, and Columbia.

Councilman Sam Davis, Columbia With a budget of $100 million and 800 employees, Myrtle Beach is only about three miles wide and 10 miles long. Leath said the residents didn’t always agree with the commercial interests, but that was a typical debate in most growth areas.

Helping Leath and city council move Myrtle Beach forward is Columbia–born and Clemson–educated Jack Walker. Walker grew up near the south side of Forest Lake, where he delivered newspapers every morning before attending classes at Dentsville High School. He is head of the Myrtle Beach planning office.

Commission chairman Adams thanked the guest speakers and regretted the absence of Greenville’s council member Lillian Flemming. Arriving at 3:30 pm for the meeting’s opening, Flemming could not stay till her opportunity to speak at 6 pm.

In two weeks, again on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 and in the same room, the commission meets to hear from out–of–state elected and appointed municipal officials. Also, two municipal government professors from USC will appear.