By David Taub
I was fortunate to serve as Beaufort’s Mayor for almost 10 years. Over the next few weeks, I will share several personal experiences and offer insights relating to how the ins and outs of our City’s government operated before, then and now.
Shortly after World War II, a dedicated group of folks organized what became the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC). Once created, the MASC began to lobby the state legislature on behalf of all South Carolina municipalities.
From its inception, the major goals of the MASC were to conduct research, publish information, and train municipal officials to provide good government. Today, it remains the primary voice for modernization of municipalities. I was honored to be a member of the MASC during a portion of my tenure as Beaufort’s Mayor.
How did S.C. counties and cities operate prior to Home Rule? Each county’s delegation, consisting of its senator and its House members, was that county’s governing body. County delegations made appointments and prepared the supply bill (or budget) for their respective counties. Each supply bill was enacted into law by the General Assembly. It was not until then that South Carolina amended the 1895 state constitution to better define and expand the powers of local governments, especially counties.
In its simplest sense, Home Rule is the exercise of independent authority by elected local governments. Home Rule legislation passed by the S.C. General Assembly, and federal revenue sharing legislation, began a busy decade of the 1970s creating basic and very important changes for municipalities.
In 1973, S.C.’s legislature approved Home Rule changes in Article VIII of South Carolina’s constitution. Although the revised S.C. constitution allowed the legislature to approve by general law up to five types of government for municipalities, the General Assembly authorized just three models of government under the adopted Home Rule Act. (S.C. Code of Laws, 5-5-10).
Under the Home Rule Act, the General Assembly provided that each municipality would adopt one of the three optional forms of government approved by S.C.’s Legislature. While the council’s legislative functions are the same in all three models, state law or council policy specifically authorizes who may perform either executive and/or administrative functions. The Home Rule Act enabled local citizens to vote to choose the governmental form they preferred to have. The state legislature sets other local government requirements, such as the number of council members, the length of terms, and conduct of elections, as well as procedures for changing the form of government.
When Home Rule was codified by the State legislature, municipalities voted between March 1973 and June 1975 to select one of the specified three government models, which best corresponded to the government in effect by the particular municipality. That is, the denizens of SC’s cities voted to choose if they wished to have the council form, the council-manager form, or the mayor-council form of local government.
To their credit, the citizens in the City of Beaufort voted to be governed by a Manager-Council form of government.
The Manager-Council model vests the Mayor/Council to make policy, sometimes called legislative powers. Whereas the manager has sole administrative authority. The City manager makes all personnel decisions, prepares an executive budget, and implements Mayor/Council’s legislative decisions and policies. State law mandates that the manager possesses administrative powers that the Mayor/Council do not have. This primary division of authority and power of decision-making between the manager and the Mayor/Council is of central importance in how S.C. municipal governments operate.
By Home Rule, the number of council members ranges from five to nine, with staggered-terms, usually of four years. Municipalities set their election dates by local ordinance. Many municipalities choose to hold their elections on the general election date in November in odd-numbered years so to avoid being overshadowed by state and national elections.
Fewer than 35 municipalities in South Carolina chose the council-manager form, although the very first city in the U. S. to adopt the council-manager form was in South Carolina. The first Mayor to operate under this model in 1975 was Henry C. Chambers, born and raised in the City of Beaufort. He served until 1990, and stepped down after 22 years of service. Thereafter, I, David Taub, served from 1990 to 1999; William “Bill” Rauch, served from late 1999 to 2008; William “Billy” Keyserling served from 2008 until 2020; Stephen Murray is the current Mayor.
So, what has Home Rule and the Manager-Council form of government meant for the City of Beaufort? I certainly believe our voters made the absolutely correct choice for its government. Stay tuned for more.
“Well, all I know is what I read in the newspapers.” – Will Rogers.
David M. Taub was Mayor of Beaufort from 1990 through 1999 and served as a Beaufort County Magistrate from 2010 to 2015. You can reach him at david.m.taub42@gmail.com.
