Bluffton leaders considering expanding town council

As the town of Bluffton grows, so could its governing body.

While there has been talk of expanding town council from five to seven members for years, calls for expansion grew louder during last year’s municipal election.

Those calls appear to be gaining steam as town staff and the council discussed the issue at a meeting earlier this week.

Councilman Dan Wood, the most vocal proponent of expansion during Tuesday’s discussion, said adding members to the body “is inevitable.”

“The great majority of communities (similar in size to Bluffton) have seven council members,” he said.

Bluffton's population in 2010 was 13,353, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

North Myrtle Beach, Clemson and Orangeburg, which have populations between 13,500 and 14,000, all have seven-member councils, according to Municipal Association of South Carolina data.

In fact, there are a handful of towns in the state with smaller populations than Bluffton’s that have councils with more than five members.

If the dice roll just right for proponents of expansion, Bluffton voters could choose whether to add two new members to the council as early as November.

But, as is so often the case, there’s a catch.

For a referendum on authorizing the council expansion to go on the November ballot, one of two things must first happen: The council must vote to approve the referendum, or at least 15 percent of registered town voters must sign a petition demanding a vote.

Either way, “ultimately, it’s the voter who decides” whether the council expands, deputy town manager Scott Marshall said.

But avoiding a petition would likely be much simpler and less expensive, he said. Collecting the required number of signatures could take quite a while.

If certain Beaufort County Election Commission deadlines aren’t met, “the chances are very slim” that the referendum would go on November’s ballot, and a special election would have to be held, Marshall said.

A special election could cost town taxpayers around $8,000, he said.

But if the town council simply approves a measure putting the referendum on the ballot, and voters favor the idea of adding council seats, those new members could be sworn in as early as January 2018.

During a public comment session at Tuesday’s council meeting, former town councilman Mike Raymond spoke in favor of adding two seats to the board.

“What we need is more heads in the game, more voices up there (on the council dais),” he said.

A larger council would bring “greater diversity” and “more life experiences” to the board, Raymond said.

The current makeup of the board — three white men, a black man and a white woman — is not necessarily a reflection of the town’s evolving demographics.

Proponents of expansion say adding council members could help the board better reflect the community — one that’s younger, includes more females than males, and is nearly 20 percent Hispanic.

Councilman Harry Lutz said he “understand(s) the representation aspect” of adding council seats and thinks “more people with the ability to look at things with an alternative” point of view could be good for the town.

But he worried that low voter turnout in recent elections is a reflection of a phenomenon that could “create a double-edged sword” — more seats may be added, but the council might not get any more diverse.

To ensure certain neighborhoods are proportionately represented, the town could be split into a series of wards, which is how the Hilton Head Island Town Council operates.

But for now, that proposition is not being considered by Bluffton leaders.

“If (splitting the town into wards) is the path we are going down, then I’m not for it,” mayor Lisa Sulka said.

Town council has directed staff to begin scheduling public forums to continue discussions about expanding the body.

If there appears to be support for the idea, the council will likely introduce an ordinance in July to add the referendum to November’s ballot.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Bluffton leaders considering expanding town council."