Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
CAYCE — A two-week investigation found evidence that council members may have acted outside the scope of their duties within Cayce’s form of government, according to a report sanctioned by the city. “The investigation I was doing … certainly revealed instances where members were stepping outside of the council-manager form of government, and there were some indications where it would more align with, for instance, strong mayor (form of government),” attorney Ryan Hicks, who was hired as an independent third party counsel, said during an Oct. 28 meeting. The investigation was launched at an Oct. 13 special-called meeting after councilmembers said they received a complaint from an employee “relating to communication between City elected official and City employee”. While Mayor Elise Partin was not named, the complaint is in line with accusations the rest of council has made for months against the mayor. Cayce City Attorney Will Dillard confirmed at the meeting that after the complaint was submitted to the city’s Human Resource department, it was his recommendation that the council hire an outside attorney to look into the matter. The elected officials are not subject to the HR policies of the city, and therefore Dillard said it would not be appropriate for the city manager to handle the complaint. The council ultimately decided to hire Hicks, from Columbia law firm White and Story, at the Dillard’s recommendation. “I felt that they were a firm that had handled, if not identical, certainly similar situations,” Dillard said, citing the firm’s work with school boards. While both Hicks and Dillard made it clear that this investigation stemmed from a complaint received by one employee in October, the council members questioned Hicks about statements made by former city manager Jim Crosland about the city’s work environment in a letter sent to council. “I don’t want to go before council and say every last piece of information in there was 100 percent accurate, but I’d say the overarching finding was that much of what Mr. Crosland indicated in his (letter) upon his departure was accurate,” Hicks said. The attorney went on to say that the letter showed a “trend or pattern of recurring conduct or themes of conduct” beyond an isolated indecent. Crosland’s letter, which he maintains was intended only for the eyes of council and the incoming city manager, depicted a workplace filled with “hostility and toxicity” and “severe overreach” created by Partin. Cayce operates under a “council-manager” form of government, which stipulates that all communication between council and staff should flow through the city manager, unless otherwise stated. When questioned about the effects it could have on staff if a council member acted outside the scope of this government, Hicks said it can place people in “precarious situations.” “I think it causes confusion for everyone, both council and staff alike,” Hicks said. Partin, who was not present at the meeting, has denied overreach of any kind. With the investigation wrapped up, the council voted to have Hicks send a written report of his findings and recommendations, which will be published on Cayce’s website by Oct. 30. Council voted unanimously to hire Hicks again to host a workshop at the first council meeting in January to discuss creating a code of conduct among council members.
