Beaufort County Council to Meet Today, Monday, March 16, to Declare Emergency Ordinance
Monday, March 16, 2020 10:26 AM
Beaufort County Council will meet today, Monday, March 16, at 12:45 p.m., to activate an Emergency Ordinance. The meeting will be held in County Council Chambers County Council Chambers, Robert Smalls Government Complex, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. The meeting will be broadcast live on The County Channel.
The meeting agenda can be found here.
The Emergency Ordinance is in SC Code4-9-130 which states:
To meet public emergencies affecting life, health, safety or the property of the people, council may adopt emergency ordinances; but such ordinances shall not levy taxes, grant, renew or extend a franchise or impose or change a service rate. Every emergency ordinance shall be designated as such and shall contain a declaration that an emergency exists and describe the emergency. Every emergency ordinance shall be enacted by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of council present. An emergency ordinance is effective immediately upon its enactment without regard to any reading, public hearing, publication requirements, or public notice requirements. Emergency ordinances shall expire automatically as of the sixty-first day following the date of enactment.
The SC Code Sec. 30-4-80 (FOIA) exempts emergency meetings from the 24-hour notice requirements.
Beaufort County will carry the County Council meeting live on The County Channel as well as Comcast channel 2, Hargray channels 9 and 113, and Spectrum channel 1304.