A spirited crowd of Dillon residents carrying picket signs and wearing black ribbons converged on a call session of Dillon County Council to show their support of Dillon County Administrator Charles Curry and their disdain for the council’s decision to terminate him.
On June 16, Dillon County Council members voted 4 to 3 to terminate the contract of county administrator Charles Curry, who had been on the job just three months.
Tuesday’s meeting was moved from council chambers to the main courtroom in the Dillon County Courthouse to accommodate the large crowd.
Residents continued holding up signs directed at council during the meeting. Some signs read, “You can be next,” “Who are you representing” and “Where is for the people by the people?”
One protester screamed, “Hey, Mr. (Bobby) Moody, your days in office are numbered,” before storming out of the room.
Moody was one of the council members that voted in favor of Curry’s dismissal last month.
Curry, who was present at the meeting, is still serving as administrator three weeks after his dismissal because the termination isn’t final until after a public hearing on the matter is held.
Council Chairman Harold Moody said Curry still is administrator because of the provisions of a state statute that requires the public hearing.
Council will abide by the state law, Moody said.
Before the call meeting, many of Curry’s supporters believed the body was meeting to suspend Curry from his duties, said Janet Altman Byrd, a Dillon lawyer representing Curry in the matter.
If they had voted to suspend Curry, she was prepared to take legal action against Dillon Council for failing to follow procedure, Altman Byrd said.
“In the event they had voted to suspend, we would have filed a suit on his behalf,” she said.
Appropriate notice must be given and a public hearing must be held before Curry is removed, Altman Byrd said.
“Our goal is to get to the public hearing stage,” she said.
The council members met in an executive session for about an hour during Tuesday’s meeting but never voted to suspend Curry.
Council told Curry in a letter dated June 18 that he was fired because he showed lack of judgment by mediating a federal U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case, even though it involved the investigation of his position.
Curry said in a letter to council dated June 23 that he didn’t receive the June 18 letter until June 22.
Curry went on to say that the body’s letter doesn’t satisfy the requirements of the state law.
During the meeting, Curry said that he had retained the services of Dillon attorney Daniel Holt Shine to advise the council in legal matters.
The council members voted Tuesday to use the Wyche law firm in Greenville.
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