Top Hilton Head attorney announces retirement; town council loosens old hiring rule
Curtis L. Coltrane, Hilton Head Island’s town attorney, publicly announced his retirement Tuesday.
At a regular town council meeting, Hilton Head Mayor Alan Perry asked Coltrane to come to the podium and share the news with the public.
Coltrane said he’d “reached a decision” to retire “at the end of this year.”
“I’m sure that’s surprising because of my youthful appearance,” he quipped. “But that’s the point that I have reached with my family.”
Perry noted that the Town of Hilton Head has put out a request for proposals for a town attorney with a deadline of Feb. 17.
The request for proposals, released to the town’s procurement website on Jan 21, initially had a Feb. 10 deadline. A notice posted on Feb. 2 states the deadline has been extended to Feb. 17.
Coltrane has served as the town attorney from 1989 to 2003 and from 2019 to present, according to an online bio. He has been a Hilton Head resident since 1981. The town attorney is the chief official responsible for providing legal advice to the town council, town manager and town employees on a wide range of matters. The person in that position may represent the town in civil litigation, interpret land management regulations and/or provide guidance on Freedom of Information Act Requests. According to RFP documents, candidates must have a minimum of five years of civil practice in relevant areas such as municipal law, zoning and land use.
Hilton Head looks to hire off-island
During the same town council meeting, the council voted to expand a decades-old requirement that the town attorney must be someone with an established practice on Hilton Head Island.
The 1983 municipal code for The Town of Hilton Head Island includes a provision that says whoever is appointed to serve as the town attorney must maintain an office within the municipal limits of the town.
A staff report attached to the agenda item called that requirement “overly restrictive.”
Assistant Town Attorney Angie Stone presented an amendment that would allow the town council to appoint an attorney with an established practice anywhere within Beaufort County limits.
“This is a minor amendment to the ordinance to allow a larger net to be cast for the town attorney,” Stone said.
The move was approved unanimously by the town council, with no discussion and no public comment.
According to the Town of Hilton Head Island’s procurement website, local law firms that downloaded RFP documents include Beaufort-based Griffith Freeman & Liipfert, LLC, Hilton Head-based Finger, Melnick, Brooks & LaBruce P.A. and Hilton Head-based Laughlin and Bowen, P.C.
The approval marks the first reading of the ordinance, meaning the change will need to be read by the council a second time before being adopted into code. According to the Town of Hilton Head Island municipal code, no ordinance may be adopted until it is read two times on two separate days with at least six days between each reading.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 10:57 AM.
