Keeping Residents Informed
Happy 2022! With each new year, brand-new residents come to our town. This means, there is so much knowledge of how Bluffton came to be that needs to be shared. My goal this year is to write about topics of interest that will help new and existing residents alike.
This past week, it came to my attention that many of our residents don’t understand how the town publicizes meetings and agendas. So, this seems to be a perfect time to write about how to find our agendas and all packet information from committees, commissions and town council.
First, regarding publicizing meetings and agendas. State law is very clear on timing to publicly announce meeting dates and any agenda. You can read the entire ordinance on the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) site: masc.sc/Pages/resources/meeting_notice.aspx. However, the section that explains the freedom of information requirements is below:
SECTION 30-4-80. Notice of meetings of public bodies.
- (A) All public bodies, except as provided in subsections (B) and (C) of this section, must give written public notice of their regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. The notice must include the dates, times, and places of such meetings. An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least 24 hours prior to such meetings. All public bodies must post on such bulletin board or website, if any, public notice for any called, special, or rescheduled meetings. Such notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than 24 hours before the meeting.
We have been very careful to follow these guidelines and wherever possible go ahead and add any additional meeting dates on our website under the Agenda Center tab. This is easy to find if you go townofbluffton.sc.gov and scroll to the bottom of the page. There, you will see the link to Agenda Center. Once on this page, you can see all dates and agendas for all our publicly held meetings. One additional item is the ability to subscribe to our notifications. The Subscribe link is at the top right of the Agenda Center page.
If you would like information on another specific topic, please reach out and let me know as I would be happy write about it in the coming months.
