Oconee considers new piece of litigation

An executive session of the Oconee County Council broke up after more than one hour late last night, without action on a litigation matter that was added to the closed-door session. But, in its earlier open session, the council talked about joining a lawsuit in an attempt to recover lost Register of Deed fees. Those fees were lost when banks across the country formed a corporation that by-passed fees charged by individual counties, such as Oconee. County Administrator Scott Moulder estimated that over a 15-year period, Oconee had lost between $144 and $192 thousand. And, on whether he thought the county should sign on as a plaintiff, Moulder urged the council, “Give it a shot.” But a motion by Paul Cain was withdrawn when the council agreed to a suggestion by Chairman Wayne McCall to find out why other counties, such as Horry and Lancaster, were not part of the lawsuit. The lawsuit was originated in Beaufort County on behalf of that county and four smaller neighboring counties.