When will the public finally hear about the Hilton Head town manager’s future?

A special meeting will not take place to publicly discuss, for the first time, the future of Hilton Head’s longtime town manager, as suggested at last Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.

But the matter involving Steve Riley, the town manager since 1995, is expected to be on the public agenda at next Tuesday’s regular council meeting, according to one of four council members who voted last week to move the issue out of a closed session and onto the public agenda.

“An effort was made by the mayor (David Bennett) to schedule a meeting as my motion requested,” said council member Bill Harkins. “And we were all targeting for Wednesday (Sept. 27), but not all members could attend. ... It’s been put on the agenda for the next (regular Town Council) meeting.”

Contacted Tuesday, Bennett said the town clerk informed him that only one time slot was available for a special meeting. Because not all Town Council members could attend a meeting at that time, he said the discussion will be put on the agenda for next Tuesday’s council meeting, though that agenda has not yet been finalized.

Council member and mayor pro tem Kim Likins said she could not attend the proposed special meeting because she has a deposition in a defamation lawsuit involving town critic Skip Hoagland. Another council member, Marc Grant, said he couldn’t attend that meeting.

Mayoral candidate and council member John McCann at last week’s regular meeting moved to bring discussion of Riley’s employment situation into the open session. The motion was approved by council members Grant, Harkins and Tom Lennox.

But that discussion was postponed because of an apparent family emergency involving Bennett and the length of the regular meeting. Harkins said at the time the discussion could not wait until the next Town Council meeting on Oct. 3, and suggested a special meeting for this week.

“The mayor wanted all council members at the (special) meeting,” Lennox said Tuesday. “So he decided to hold no special meeting to discuss the town manager.”

McCann and Harkins said they would have preferred the special meeting but are OK with waiting until next Tuesday’s regular meeting.

“Time is not anyone’s friend when ambiguity is growing at a rapid rate,” Harkins said. “I’m glad it’s going to be addressed at least by next Tuesday.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "When will the public finally hear about the Hilton Head town manager’s future?."