Hilton Head mayor says no public comment in meeting on historic church, tourism taxes
Hilton Head Island’s Town Council is returning to its regular meeting schedule with one big omission - the public’s ability to comment on the issue of the day.
Tuesday’s meeting, where the council will virtually discuss the relocation of a historic church, tourism tax allocations and land use rules, does not have a public comment section.
The meeting comes one day after The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers reported that Mayor John McCann received over $7,000 in reimbursements over the last nine months of his time in office. It also comes as the mayor is recused from his duties due to an injury.
Mayor pro tem Bill Harkins, who is serving as mayor as McCann recovers from a fall, said Tuesday that he cannot add a public comment section for the 4 p.m. meeting because the window to sign up would have closed at noon Tuesday.
Harkins said McCann may have removed public comment because he felt like the written comments submitted to the town sufficed for public comment.
The Hilton Head mayor has the power to add and remove items from Town Council agendas before they are published to the public.
Members of the public have not been permitted to speak in front of virtual meetings of the council throughout the pandemic, granting the mayor and council a reprieve from the often pointed criticisms of their leadership and decisions.
Instead, public comments are submitted through an online portal and then sent to council members, although no council members have referenced submitted comments in a meeting in recent months.
Tuesday’s meeting is one of the first regularly-scheduled meetings to occur outside the special meeting protocols established by the pandemic.
Although it’s virtual, the meeting time has been restored to 4 p.m. and the council is discussing non-coronavirus issues. By default, all regular Town Council meetings include a section for public comment, according to town code.
The mayor is the only member of town government who can add or remove items from a meeting agenda.
