{"id":3969,"date":"2026-07-31T10:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3969"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:08:48","slug":"town-council-starts-to-roll-back-chapin-mayors-powers-after-no-confidence-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3969","title":{"rendered":"Town council starts to roll back Chapin mayor\u2019s powers after no confidence vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A week after voting no confidence in their mayor, Chapin Town Council began the process of checking some of Mayor Bill Mitchell\u2019s powers in a special meeting on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3967\">Data centers would have to report water usage under SC budget deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Council members formally introduced three measures that would shift responsibility back toward the five-member council in the town of some 2,000 people north of Lake Murray. One would explicitly vest the creation of any new town departments in the council as a whole, while another would likewise empower the council to hire a town attorney. The third would designate two liaisons \u2014 the mayor pro tempore and another council member \u2014 to act as go-betweens for the council and the town attorney when making any legal decisions on behalf of the town.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>No formal vote was taken on any of the measures Thursday, but Mitchell said at the meeting he not only sees these moves as undermining his authority as a strong mayor, but he interpreted the motions as preventing the mayor from voting as a member of council.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt strips the mayor of an equal vote, and it\u2019s actually against the law,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But the other council members who spoke Thursday said the intent was merely to clarify the council\u2019s position within a town that since his election last year Mitchell has largely run as a municipal \u201cCEO,\u201d as the mayor described the job on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe council includes you,\u201d said Councilman Mike Clonts. \u201cYou would still have a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Mitchell pointed out that one proposal would change the language of the town ordinance from \u201cthe mayor and council\u201d to simply \u201cthe council.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why change the wording?\u201d Michell asked. The mayor said he would seek a legal opinion from the S.C. Attorney General\u2019s Office on the changes before they come up for a vote at the next council meeting.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Only a week ago, Chapin Town Council voted 4-1 that it had no confidence in Mitchell\u2019s leadership and members called on the mayor to resign. The only dissenting vote on the measure was Mitchell\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After Mitchell was elected mayor last November, he eliminated the position of town administrator \u2014 the official who had overseen town staff \u2014 and took on the responsibility himself as a \u201cfull-time mayor.\u201d Several other town staff have left since Mitchell took over, including one town clerk who accused him in a police report of assaulting her. He was also granted the authority to make hiring and firing decisions in January, in a 3-2 town council vote in which Ainslee Bost and Warren Burritt voted in favor of enhancing the mayor\u2019s power.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Relations between the mayor and council have soured since then. In reference to the changes to how the town attorney position is handled, Bost pointed out that Chapin has cycled through five lawyers since Mitchell took office almost nine months ago.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s made it incredibly difficult to recruit qualified legal counsel,\u201d Bost said. \u201cWe need stable, independent representation&#8230; without getting entangled in unnecessary conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Mitchell likewise challenged the proposal for two liaisons to oversee the town attorney as cutting out council, but Bost said the officials wouldn\u2019t be able to make any decisions on their own without action being taken by council.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3966\">California man arrested over Nolan Wells-related death threats against judge<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is so everybody can be informed and not leave anybody out, like has been the case previously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s 30-minute meeting unfolded in quiet tension but avoided the shouting and finger-pointing that presaged last week\u2019s confidence vote. Mitchell often explicitly cited Robert\u2019s Rules of Order before making a statement or action as the meeting\u2019s chair. He ended the meeting by reiterating a statement he made last week about how he believes his council colleagues are \u201cgood people\u201d trying to act in the town\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>While the four council members expressed their disapproval last week, the vote had no legal effect on its own, and Mitchell remains the mayor. By the end of the week, both sides had made moves to reconcile.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The mayor posted a video to the town\u2019s Facebook page extending an \u201colive branch,\u201d and the town council posted its own message promising to seek a \u201cgovernance counsel to provide coaching and guidance for both the Mayor and Council on their respective roles and responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Councilman Burritt attempted to introduce a resolution asking for such outside intervention, but Mitchell shut him down because the item hadn\u2019t been placed on the agenda ahead of the meeting.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the mistake we made last time,\u201d the mayor said, referencing the introduction of the no-confidence motion.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Bost said afterwards that the council plans to ask the S.C. Municipal Association to come in and do some training for the town officials.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have three new people here (since the last election), and it\u2019s been fast and furious since then, and we\u2019ve had no training because of the schedule,\u201d Bost said. \u201cWe want them to come in and provide some insight on how things stand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Mitchell made clear his opposition to the council majority\u2019s proposals because he felt they were \u201cdisenfranchising\u201d voters who previously adopted the strong-mayor form of government.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are weighty decisions being made right now, such as the sale of property that will affect our utility plant, that will need to be addressed,\u201d Mitchell said, referencing Lexington County\u2019s plans to sell the Brighton technology park near town to a developer who wants to put 600 new homes on the site. Mitchell has resisted issuing connections to the town sewer system for the site, saying it would burden the town\u2019s wastewater plant.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Bost said the council likewise opposes residential development on the site, but questioned Mitchell\u2019s strategy when he spoke at a Lexington County Council meeting and effectively told the county he would test his connection policy in court.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3965\">Tourist \u2018severely injured\u2019 by horse in Great Smoky Mountains, officials say<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a 4-1 no-confidence vote, Chapin officials proposed empowering council to oversee departments, hire town attorney and appoint liaisons for legal matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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