Mayor Collins to Absorb Administrator Duties

Town council will address a resolution to give Mayor Bill Collins the responsibilities of town administrator during the regular meeting at town hall this week. 

"I will become a full-time strong-mayor," Collins said of the added responsibilities to the position.  

The meeting begins 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The resolution, saying it authorizes "the mayor to perform the duties of town administrator," will be addressed in Wednesday night's regular meeting of council. An introduction and first reading of an ordinance "to amend the organizational structure of the town of Summerville" will be also read.

Read Wednesday's agenda here.

This same resolution was approved today during the regular meeting of the finance committee. 

An ordinance is needed to amend the current town ordinance, which places administrative duties with a town administrator and not with the mayor.  

Since being sworn-in as mayor June 20, Collins has made clear he wanted the mayoral position to absorb the vacant town administrator position in the town. .

At first, town council explored a change in government from council form to strong-mayor form, but it was discovered that a change in government form — which would require a voter referendum next year — was not needed to give administrator duties to the mayor. . 

Restructuring the town's organization to bring administrative duties under the mayor also includes adding five director positions, abolishing the town administrator position and abolishing the assistant town administrator position, currently held by Lisa Wallace. However, Wallace will be named a director — one of five proposed directors — in the re-organization, Collins said this morning. 

Other directors will be Charlie Miller, Belinda Harper, Madelyn Robinson and Bruce Owens. 

"We're not talking about making any changes in anybodies' pay; it's just re-structuring the way people report to the mayor. It has nothing to do with pay scale," Collins said. 

Under the re-organization, Collins will have full administrative duties with the exceptions of hiring and firing, he said. Those actions will be made through recommendation to council, he added.

Updated to correct meeting day, which is Wednesday and not Tuesday as originally reported. Updated to add information from today's finance committee meeting and from a brief interview with Mayor Bill Collins.