At the July 21st Chapin Town Council meeting four council members presented a resolution of ‘no confidence’ towards Mayor Bill Mitchell asking for him to seriously consider resigning. Council members Ainslee Bost, Warren Burritt, Mike Clonts and Vicki Shealy all agreed that the mayor’s behavior and his ability to lead effectively are flawed.
When presented with the resolution Mitchell became hostile towards the other members of council and shook his finger at a councilwoman, yelled and banged his gavel repeatedly.
Mitchell has been under scrutiny since he became mayor in November of 2025. Three days after the election, Mitchell went into town hall and demanded to be sworn in violating Chapin’s ordinance that a newly elected candidate must wait until February. After taking office Mitchell fired the town’s administrator, Nicholle Burroughs, declaring he would be a full time mayor and handle those responsibilities. He refused new connections to Chapin’s sewer system which immediately stopped any new development. He was investigated by SLED for allegedly placing his hands on a staff member of the town. No charges were filed in the investigation.
Four town attorneys have resigned from representing Chapin claiming that they cannot work with the mayor.
Mitchell was vocal against the sale of a property called the Brighton Business and Technology Park, a 200 acre tech park that has been vacant for nearly a decade. Lexington County spent $16 million to build the infrastructure in the park and now want to recoup their losses by selling it to a developer for more than $20 million. The developer plans on putting in 600 homes along with commercial properties, a park and recreation areas. Mitchell took his fight to social media where he rambled on in long diatribes.
On Friday, July 24, Mitchell went on Facebook live and spoke about current events at town hall and saying that ‘our last council meeting was a train wreck.’ He went on to say that it did not give a good look for the town.
“I want to extend an olive branch to all of the council members,” said Mitchell. “We have been struggling on how to work together.”
He went on to laud the employees in the town, from water and sewer to finance, saying they are spectacular people. He talked of the popular Labor Day Parade and how it attracts multitudes of spectators and politicians. “We’ve got some fun stuff coming up,” said Mitchell as he ended his video.
