Simpsonville City Council Seeks to Rein in Unruly Meetings

Simpsonville city officials on Thursday said they will start enforcing ordinances regarding City Council meeting rules and regulations beginning with the upcoming Feb. 12 meeting.

Though the announcement from the city didn't mention it, the move comes after a series of Council meetings dominated by angry supporters of former police chief Keith Grounsell, whom Council fired in a 5-2 vote on Dec. 28.

In subsequent Council meetings, Council chambers have been filled to capacity, requiring the city's fire marshal to strictly enforce occupancy rules. Faced with an angry and often boisterous crowd of cat-calling and sign-waving Grounsell supporters, Mayor Perry Eichor has twice suspended public comment rules to let people speak about the Council's controversial decision to terminate Grounsell.

Both during and after recent Council meetings, Grounsell supporters have heaped withering criticism on the Council that has bordered on belligerent. Most of the scorn has been reserved for Eichor, but also notably Council member George Curtis and City Administrator Russ Hawes.

Eichor has alleged that many speakers that have heaped scorn on Council are not even Simpsonville residents or property or business owners, which the public comment rules require.

According to the text of the city's announcement:

"Under City Ordinance: "Any citizen or person owning property, or having a business license within the municipality shall be entitled to appear before the council at any regular or workshop meeting concerning any municipal matter with the exception of personnel matters. Persons desiring to appear on the agenda must notify the clerk by noon on the Wednesday of the week prior to the council meeting. Comments to the council shall be limited to four minutes. Persons not on the agenda may speak by signing in at least ten minutes prior to the beginning of the meeting; comments shall be limited to two minutes."

"In addition, the City of Simpsonville will enforce rules of decorum at all meetings. The City had relaxed its rules in previous meetings to hear citizen comments."