Dillon County Council ousts county administrator

DILLON — Dillon County Council members have voted 4 to 3 to terminate the contract of county administrator Charles Curry, who had been on the job just three months.

The move came during a special council meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

During the meeting, the body held an executive session and asked the crowd of more than 100 people who showed up for the meeting to leave the chambers.

After the session, the council said no action had been taken during the executive session.

Many present said they were in attendance to show their support for Curry.

“We deserve great leadership,” Dillon resident John Harlow told council.

Harlow said he supports Curry and is proud of the way he enforces county policy.

Before the council voted, Dillon resident Howard Sloan said Curry should keep his post.

“If you hire a person to carry out (county) policies, why dismiss the person?” he said. “If the policies don’t suit you all, then make some policies that do.”

Dillon County Councilman Bobby Moody made the motion to relieve Curry of his duties.

The motion was seconded by council vice chairman Macio Williamson.

When the voting concluded, sounds of dismay and disagreement could be heard in the large crowd.

After he his termination, Curry stood and addressed the crowd.

“I really appreciate this show of support. You are good people. We are going to make a change in Dillon County,” he said.

After thunderous applause from the crowd, Curry reminded council that he had furnished them with a copy of the state law that requires the body to give him a written statement of the reasons for his removal.

After receiving the reasons from the council, the administrator may file a written request for a public hearing on the matter, according to S.C. Code of Laws Title 4 Chapter 9.

This public hearing must be held at a council meeting between 20 and 30 days after the request is filed. The administrator, in turn, may file with the council a written reply no later than five days before the public hearing.

After the meeting was adjourned, Curry said council had been trying to terminate him at least since his third day on the job.

Curry declined to say why he thought council voted to dismiss him.

“I would prefer to wait until they give me the written reason. I don’t want to speculate,” he said.

Curry said there are policies in Dillon County that haven’t been enforced since they were passed some 30 years ago.

“I want Dillon County to conduct government in the manner in which it was passed in 1975, which has never been done,” he said. “That’s exactly what I want.”

Curry said he came under fire recently because he told Dillon County volunteer firefighters they wouldn’t be paid for fighting a fire they didn’t fight. Volunteer firefighters are required to sign a log book if they were on the scene of a fire, he said.

But for years, firefighters have been ignoring the policy and signing or having their friends to sign their names in the log book even if they weren’t at the fire, Curry said.

“Firefighters are a politically influential bunch,” he said.

Curry was hired as county administrator beginning March 16, according to the county’s Web site, www.dilloncounty.sc.gov. He previously served as the county’s Master-in-Equity and had previous experience as the Dillon County attorney, as an attorney in a private practice and as a Dillon County magistrate.

Curry replaced Clay Young, who left to become Kershaw County’s administrator.