“The tone has to be set at the top.” New Beaufort County boss pledges changes are coming

With a handful of vacancies in top positions and public trust to regain, Beaufort County’s new administrator vows county leadership will be different going forward.

In a wide-ranging interview, Michael Moore talked about the importance of people and structure, transparency, the departure of a key leader and tried to distance himself from past controversies, including the secrecy around his own hiring.

The interview provides an important first insight into Moore’s priorities and philosophy as he takes over Beaufort County’s top office. Moore started his new position July 1.

Asked about the challenge of rebuilding trust between the public and the county, Moore said he will prioritize open communication with the media, engagement with the public and ethically structuring the county.

“I think the tone has to be set at the top,” he said. “Then I have to be held accountable for the performance of the staff and what we’re doing and how we’re doing business.”

Moore spoke cautiously, however, when talking about the process around his hiring and the lack of transparency the county has shown around the investigation into the misuse of p-card and contract procurement, some of which has dribbled out into the public but which has yet to be fully addressed.

Moore said he believed his hiring was done following South Carolina law. “As far as I could tell, yes, it was done properly,” he said, without specifically addressing the question of whether the public should have been brought into the process or whether he preferred the secrecy over a forum with the community before being selected.

As for the p-card and contract investigation and the $350,000 outside audit the county paid for and not only hasn’t released but has failed to even say what information exactly it has in its possession, Moore deferred to the council without offering an opinion or saying what counsel he would provide.

“The council is currently reviewing it, and the council will make the decision on the release of that,” Moore said.

Moore was more forthcoming on the topic of forming the right team and his vision for a department that has hemorrhaged employees recently, saying he will break tradition and look outside of the current employee pool to fill key vacancies.

Hiring a chief financial officer will be his top priority, Moore said. Other vacancies include the deputy administrator position, the assistant administrator for information technology and communication position and the capital improvement director position.

Added to the list this week was the position of county attorney with Thomas Keavaney’s announcement that he is stepping down. Keavany has long been a key voice in county decisions, including its most controversial ones.

Moore said the timing of Keavaney’s resignation was coincidental to the new administrator’s arrival.

Moore also spoke of the possibility of creating new positions as he settled on the right structure and mentioned that while he always favored performance management, he would not tolerate poor conduct from employees.

The administrator said that he hopes that in two or three months, he’ll have everything in place as far as personnel and structure are concerned.

Moore’s predecessor, Eric Greenway, was fired by council almost a year ago in late July. At a hearing requested by the former administrator to contest the action, Chairman Passiment cited Greenway’s failure to follow the statutes on hiring outside contractors, his relationship with a former contractor turned employee and his disregard for the county’s procurement process as the reasons for his termination. The former employee accused Greenway of sexual harassment and retaliation.

A series of questionable actions came to light in the wake of the Greenway firing including a mysterious purchase of nearly $36,000 worth of weighted blankets, reportedly from a company owned by then Deputy Administrator Whitney Richland’s husband.

It was later discovered that the county was quietly in possession of the blankets , which were all still boxed and on the floor in a county warehouse. Officials had previously denied that the county ever took possession of the order. Richland resigned on an unknown date following the press coverage of the blankets.