In establishing the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, the General Assembly found it “vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in the formulation of public policy.”

Pickens County takes this duty to the public seriously, and continues to work for more open and accessible government in our community. In the last six months, we have conducted a ground up review of our interactions with the public and the media, and established new standard procedures that meet, and in many cases, exceeds the requirements of state law.

As an important step in these reforms, County staff met with local newspapers and television outlets for an informal roundtable to discuss media perspectives and our desire for better communication with the public. In the spirit of openness, we also invited the South Carolina Press Association, and were pleased that they attended and participated in our discussion. At the conclusion of our meeting, the participants agreed that the County’s public notice and meeting agenda, processes exceed that of many other local governments, and satisfy state FOIA requirements.

For example, we are required by law to publish a notice and agenda of our meetings at least twenty-four hours in advance. Pickens County’s practice is to go beyond this minimum standard and inform the public of our meetings and the agenda a full week in advance of the meeting date.

During a meeting, we do not deviate from the written agenda unless Council votes to do so during the proper motion period. Votes of this nature are not common, but are specifically allowed by state law when the proposed item for consideration is not a final action, and is approved by a two-thirds majority vote. Final actions are also allowed by state law, but only in emergency situations. On occasion, a well-intentioned Council member may seek to add an item to the agenda when the above statutory requirements are not met. It is then the duty of County staff (specifically, the County Attorney) to point out the public’s right to be fully informed of the matters under consideration and advise the Council member to delay the non-qualifying item until a future meeting, so that the public can be fully aware of its consideration. In my experience, Council members usually welcome this advice, as they understand that the public’s business should be conducted with full knowledge of the citizens.

Pickens County goes beyond the requirements of SC FOIA in other ways, as well. We are now issuing “white sheets” to address frequently asked questions from the public, such as millage calculation and our fund balance. We are also providing regular press releases to highlight important or interesting assignments performed by county staff. We recently hired a Public Information Officer to promptly handle all public and media information requests, whether formally made under FOIA or informally made through citizens’ calls or e-mails. We have increased our social media presence by putting public information on various media platforms to maximize convenience for our taxpayers. We now “live stream” our public meetings on Facebook, which I believe is unique among local governments in our area.

Pickens County staff and County Council are committed to providing the public with timely information necessary for good government. Our practices meet or exceed those set forth in the SC FOIA law, and we will continue to work to increase transparency in local government.

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Ken Roper is the attorney for Pickens County.