He's got a new job on Hilton Head, but this county administrator still won't talk about it

For the third straight day, interim Beaufort County Administrator Josh Gruber remained silent about his forthcoming job with the Town of Hilton Head Island.

Gruber didn't return numerous phone calls Monday and Tuesday — at Wednesday morning's Southern Lowcountry Regional Board, he told a reporter for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette he would not comment and directed her to Hilton Head Town Manager Steve Riley.

"That's his own choice," Riley said Wednesday afternoon when asked why Gruber has so far declined to talk about the move. "He doesn't work for me yet, and I haven't put any restrictions on him."

Hilton Head announced Monday that Gruber would be the town's next assistant town manager with a tentative start date of Aug. 6.

Gruber was previously a perceived frontrunner in the search to become the county's next full-fledged administrator, but Beaufort County Council found itself starkly divided over his candidacy.

At Wednesday's meeting, the newspapers attempted to ask Gruber when he accepted the position and why he decided to leave county administration, but he declined to comment.

And he further declined comment before questions could be asked about how long he plans to be the town's assistant manager, and whether he's being groomed as Riley's potential successor.

"No comment. I've been very consistent about that," Gruber said, though he has not returned numerous phone calls since Monday's announcement.

Riley, who's been with the town for more than two decades, has been a recent finalist for city manager jobs in Iowa, Texas and Savannah.

On Wednesday, Riley said he and town council had, in past months, come to an understanding that he would stay on for "several more years but not the rest of my life." He said he told council he'd like to find a candidate to be his successor but made all candidates — including Gruber — aware that there were "no promises," and that they should "expect a search process" if and when Riley moves on.

He called the assistant town manager role a good opportunity for someone to get to know the job and develop a name for themselves in the community in the event they wanted to one day be considered for the top role.

Former Beaufort County Administrator Gary Kubic primed Gruber — then deputy administrator — to succeed him in September 2017, when Kubic retired.

In October, a six-month-long search to replace Kubic failed — county council found itself split over Gruber's candidacy and unable to clearly support a new hire. (Riley applied for the position, but ultimately withdrew his name.)

Now, council is in the middle of a second search, one that appeared last month to be just as contentious concerning Gruber.

But that was before Monday's announcement, which took some — such as Beaufort County Councilman Rick Caporale — by surprise.

In early April, Gruber told the newspapers he planned to apply for the county administrator job and was not job-searching elsewhere.

Riley said he reached out to Gruber later that month about taking the town position. Riley said the town, at the time, had some assistant town manager candidates from outside the state, but they would have steeper learning curves. And he said news reports indicating county council's hardening positions on Gruber encouraged him to reach out.

"I think (Gruber) realized he was not going to get consideration for the (county administrator) job," Riley said.

He said Gruber applied some time after April's 2018 RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing golf tournament.

Monday's town news release said Gruber was hired after a five-month, nationwide search that produced 130 applicants.

Gruber will make $152,000 as Hilton Head's assistant town manager, Riley told the newspapers Monday.

Gruber's county salary was listed as $130,000 in a June 2017 list of semi-finalists for the Marco Island, Fla., city manager position on the city's website.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 12:48 PM with the headline "He's got a new job on Hilton Head, but this county administrator still won't talk about it."