Richland County Council votes again to remove administrator; here are the reasons
A sharply divided Richland County Council voted again Monday to remove administrator Gerald Seals from office, saying he slept on the job, had a rapid turnover of staff and took major actions without input from the council.
The council voted 6-5 to to present Seals with a written explanation for his initial firing, and then 9-2 to suspend him with pay until the issue is resolved. The votes indicate the majority is apparently still committed to firing him.
Council members had voted last week to terminate Seals immediately without officially saying why. He told The State two days later that state law requires the council to provide him a written statement specifying the reasons for his firing. He also must be given the chance for a public hearing before the council.
His comments apparently prompted the council to call a special meeting for Monday afternoon, and the majority drafted a letter listing their reasons for wanting him gone. They include moving to change the management of the county's beleaguered penny tax roads program and buying land for the Richland Renaissance project without input from the council.
Council member Greg Pearce, who voted to fire Seals, said the state law governing how a county council can fire an administrator was a surprise. "To be quite honest, we didn't know about the statute," he said.
Seals remained stoic and silent throughout the more than 3 hour meeting. He walked out after the meeting without comment.
One of his main supporters on council, Dahli Myers, who represents parts of Lower Richland, said the situation was simply "sad."
The council's list of reasons for firing Seals, read during Monday's meeting by council member Jim Manning, said the administrator had taken steps, without council authority, to transfer management of the county's penny tax program from a consortium of private companies to the county administration.
The program has had problem for years, and Seals said last year that it was in the red by $104 million. Last month, the state Supreme Court criticized the county for spending penny tax money improperly.
The county's Richland Renaissance program calls for moving administrative offices from Hampton Street in downtown Columbia to three abandoned anchor stores at Columbia Place mall. A judicial center would be built at the Hampton Street location, and the current judicial center on Main Street would be sold.
In his interview with The State last week, Seals disputed a number of claims raised by some council members. He said he has been transparent with the council and has never "acted contrary to council authorization. I have not acted without council authorization."
Seals suggested that some council members might have voted to fire him as an act of retaliation for personal grievances, including that he raised some ethical issues.
He also noted that council members have not given him a performance evaluation since he was officially hired 15 months ago.
Council members who voted last week to fire Seals were Norman Jackson, Gwen Kennedy, Paul Livingston, Jim Manning, Greg Pearce and Seth Rose. They also voted Monday evening to suspend him with pay.
Those against firing Seals were chairwoman Joyce Dickerson, Chip Jackson, Bill Malinowski, Yvonne McBride and Myers.
Seals was hired in December 2016 after serving as interim director for five months.
This story was originally published April 9, 2018 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Richland County Council votes again to remove administrator; here are the reasons."