Tuesday, the Surfside Beach Town Council will hold its first regular meeting since the arrest last week of Mayor Allen Deaton on DUI charges.
Surfside Beach has what's called a weak mayor-council form of government, which means the town administrator runs the town on a day-to-day basis. So, council members tell NewsChannel 15 Deaton's arrest shouldn't change the way the town is run.
But Councilman Doug Samples calls the arrest an unfortunate incident and a black eye for the town.
Samples says he expects Deaton to talk about the arrest at Tuesday's meeting and maybe offer a public apology.
Samples says we all have to own up to our actions and he's sure the mayor will do the right thing. He says several of the town's residents told him over the weekend they were disappointed with the mayor.
Samples says he considers the arrest a serious matter that should not be swept under the rug.
Councilman Bob Childs also called the incident unfortunate, but says Deaton is innocent until proven guilty.
To avoid a conflict of interest, the town's attorney has asked the 15th Circuit Solicitor's office to prosecute Deaton's case.
The solicitor says he will ask for a change of venue, so the case won't be handled in town court.
Deaton was arrested last Thursday night. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released the next day.
Read the story of Deaton's arrest here.
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