Beaufort County leaders won’t let the public know who the finalists are for the county’s top job

Beaufort County council members so far have been tight-lipped about possible candidates to replace outgoing county administrator Gary Kubic, and they don’t plan to hold public interviews of finalists before making a hiring decision.

“I know the people are anxious,” County Council chairman Paul Sommerville told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette on Saturday. “We’re anxious to hire and make an offer to someone. We want to move as quickly as we can.”

But John Crangle of Columbia, a longtime government watchdog, said Saturday the public is entitled to know who the finalists are before a hiring decision is made.

“Public officials love secrecy,” said Crangle, an attorney and government relations director of the South Carolina Progressive Network. “I think the decision (by Beaufort County officials not to hold public interviews of finalists) is stupid and does not have any benefit to the citizens of the county.”

“They should reconsider,” Crangle continued, “and open it up to the public and be as transparent as possible.”

Sommerville said Friday there were about 50 applicants for the position. Kubic has said he plans to retire at the end of the year.

Sommerville said Saturday that Kubic’s contract expires on Dec. 31, and that the County Council hopes to fill the position before then. He said the council is looking at nine candidates, and there currently are no plans to hold public interviews of finalists, though he added it’s possible the council could decide to do so.

A source close to the situation but who asked not to be identified said Saturday he was informed Hilton Head town manager Steve Riley is one of six finalists for the position, and that each County Council member is expected to submit his or her rankings of the final six to a consultant, with a hiring decision expected next month.

Sommerville declined Friday to name any of the candidates under consideration for Kubic’s position. He did not identify the nine candidates as finalists, and asked a reporter with the Packet and Gazette about the definition of “finalist” under state law, then later informed the reporter that according to the county’s legal counsel, the identities of finalists didn’t have to be released to the public until after the hiring was completed.

But the S.C. Freedom of Information Act doesn’t say that. The law reads that “materials relating to not fewer than the final three applicants under consideration for a position must be made available for public inspection and copying.”

Crangle said the county is not complying with the Freedom of Information Act.

Contacted Saturday, council members Mike Covert, Stu Rodman, Jerry Stewart, Taber Vaux, and Rick Caporale said they couldn’t comment on personnel matters discussed in closed-door sessions.

The remaining members of the 11-member council could not be reached immediately for comment Saturday.

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Beaufort County leaders won’t let the public know who the finalists are for the county’s top job."