The Charleston City Council met on July 20, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. All 25 members were present except Councilmembers Burka, Cook, Rubio, and Salango. The meeting included public comments, unanimous approval of a traffic ordinance, a blight resolution for the East End, and seven finance resolutions covering budget amendments, fire station renovations, lighting, sidewalks, paving, animal shelter services, and paramedic training. Council members also delivered remarks on various city issues. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 PM.
Good evening, everyone. Council, please come to order. Members will please rise. Well, Councilwoman Kearns leads us in prayer this evening. Creator, as we come together to share ideas, let accountability be the guiding principle that shapes our interactions. Let us recognize that our words and actions have consequences, and let us hold ourselves responsible for the impact they create. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so are our collaborative efforts strengthened by the integrity of each individual. Through this invocation of accountability, let us build a culture of trust and reliability where our commitments to one another are unwavering. Please protect those serving in our great nation's military from harm. Please remember those that have been injured or have died for our freedom and give comfort to their family and friends. Amen. They bring the police to the problem tiles and they don't do nothing about like the house I was the house I was at caught on fire on April the fifth. Still not tear down. They broken that house, then they broken the house across the street. The other house across the street, broken my house. They didn't want to. I asked to do a police report. They didn't do nothing. They stole my power, the messing my power, my cameras, my ring system. Then I got half of that stuff back together. I'm looking like a bum right now because I've been caught in an addiction on this kind of weather temperature. And um, I called a police, I caught the guy still the license plates off my car. I caught a cop. He said, Won't you go down there and get it yourself? Since you have the know who done it. I said, okay, well um, so you you you telling me to go down there and have an issue. You know, I'll pay enough property taxes to you know the response should be ignored. Just because of the certain areas of the town, it should it's like it's go away. My problem is North Charleston is like the first part which you come to Charleston. You know, would you come in from Dunbar? You should see like you see everywhere else. You shouldn't have seen homeless people buggies everywhere. I mean, police don't know how to respond to them. You have issues. I had issues before. I've been to the city attorney about them blocking off property that I have, and and this has been like two years later. That issue have been resolved. I mean, and I I really see my my big problem if it's not me. I can handle my own, but they breaking an old people's houses who can't defend themselves, still on AC units, it's 90 degrees outside. I mean, this is the issue that get annoyed and put off. Yes, we got the basketball court right before election on the west side. But that's it. We need more than that. We more we need more people gonna pull up and control what comes out, don't we call like they just fed up with it because they're gonna get put back out, you know. It's it's a lot of situations that you know I should never have to do a cop's job when I call them for somebody breaking in my house, and they still didn't do report. You know, and that's the problem with that, you know. Mr. Jones, is uh d do you care if we just I'm not gonna ask you for stayed the whole time, but do you care if we run back and get your telephone number just so we can connect with you, sir? Is that okay? Yes, ma'am.