How to be heard at Kershaw County Council
County Council decides zoning, roads, taxes, the budget and county services. Any resident can speak to Council directly at a meeting, and it's simpler than most people think. Here's how it works.
On this page: When & where · Public comment · Public hearings · Presentations · Contact your council member · More ways to take part
When and where Council meets
- The 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, 6:00 p.m.
- Council Chambers, Kershaw County Government Center, 515 Walnut Street, Camden.
- Dates sometimes change - the county posts changes on its calendar. Every recap explains what was on the agenda in plain English.
- Can't be there? Meetings are streamed live, and every recap on this site links to the recording - most votes have a Watch this vote button that jumps straight to that moment.
Speak during Public Comment
Every regular meeting has a Public Comment period near the start, right after Council adopts the agenda. You can speak about any public matter - it doesn't have to be on the agenda.
- Sign up. Give your name, your topic and a phone number on the sign-up sheet. Arrive a few minutes early so you're on the list before Public Comment begins.
- Wait to be called. Speakers are called one at a time, by name and topic.
- Speak for up to 5 minutes. Public Comment as a whole is capped at 30 minutes, so if more than six people sign up, the 30 minutes is split evenly - with ten speakers, everyone gets three minutes. A timer shows how much time you have left.
- Council listens - it won't answer. Public Comment is not a question-and-answer session or a debate; Council receives your comments without responding. If you want an answer, contact your council member directly.
- Speaking for a group? Choose one spokesperson, and name the group on the sign-up sheet and when you speak.
- Offensive and inappropriate comments are not tolerated.
- Public Comment is live-streamed, uninterrupted, until it's finished.
- Council can change these rules by a single vote - including at the meeting itself.
Tips that help: say what you're asking Council to do in your first sentence; name the agenda item if your comment is about one; and write it out and time yourself - five minutes is roughly 650 spoken words, three minutes about 400.
Speak at a public hearing
Some items - often zoning and land-use ordinances - get a formal public hearing before Council's final vote. Hearings appear on the agenda by name.
- Sign up before the hearing starts. When it opens, the chair announces how many people signed up and the order.
- Speakers go in sign-up order, up to 10 minutes each.
- Keep your comments to the subject of the hearing.
Ask to give a presentation
Organizations (other than government bodies) can ask to be put on the agenda for a Public Presentation on a matter within Council's authority. There are at most two per meeting, each up to 15 minutes, and Council takes no action on them. The request has to be in writing and describe what you'll present. Call the Clerk to Council at (803) 425-1501 to ask how to submit one. If you simply want to raise a concern, the rules point you to Public Comment instead.
Contact your council member
Not sure who represents you? Find your district on the county map. The chairman is elected countywide; everyone else represents one district. A call or email is the best way to ask a question or get a response - something Council can't do during Public Comment.
| Ben Connell Chairman (elected countywide) | (803) 425-6778 [email protected] |
| Russell Brazell Vice Chairman, District 1 | (803) 425-6778 [email protected] |
| Sammie Tucker Jr. District 2 | (803) 513-6474 [email protected] |
| Derek Shoemake District 3 | (803) 427-4929 [email protected] |
| Jimmy Jones District 4 | (803) 729-3638 [email protected] |
| Brant Tomlinson District 5 | (803) 427-9284 [email protected] |
| Danny Catoe District 6 | (803) 729-3837 [email protected] |
Clerk to Council: (803) 425-1501. Each name opens that member's full voting record.
More ways to take part
- Serve on a board or commission. Council appoints residents to boards such as the Planning and Zoning Commission; open seats are listed under Appointments on each agenda. Ask the Clerk to Council for a biographical data form and return it - your name goes to Council when there's a vacancy.
- Need an accommodation (hearing assistance, an interpreter)? Call the Clerk to Council at (803) 425-1501 at least 24 hours before the meeting.
- Know what's coming. Read the latest recap, search past meetings in the archive, or get every recap by email.
Source: Kershaw County Council's Public Comment Guidelines (amended May 14, 2024), Public Hearing Guidelines and Public Presentation Guidelines, printed in every council agenda packet; meeting schedule and contacts from kershaw.sc.gov. Last checked against the October 27, 2026 agenda. The county's posted agenda is the final word.