In split vote, Hilton Head leaders give town manager pay raise despite critical review
Hilton Head’s highest paid employee will earn even more after Town Council narrowly agreed to increase the town manager’s pay last week.
Town Manager Steve Riley will receive two $5,000 lump sum bonuses and a 3-percent salary increase, bringing his salary to $180,460.
This comes after an annual performance review — the first since 2015 — in which Town Council said Riley’s performance fell between “satisfactory” and “exceptional.” He received the same rating in 2015.
Town Council approved the latest increases in a 4-3 vote, with Mayor David Bennett and council members David Ames and Kim Likins opposing the pay increase.
The vote demonstrates a common split — John McCann, Bill Harkins, Tom Lennox and Marc Grant voting one way, and Bennett, Ames and Likins voting another. It also highlights a rift between the mayor and Riley that has been present since Bennett took office in 2014.
The two bonuses are for Riley’s performance in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, in which he had no evaluation. Town Council met in August 2016 regarding Riley’s annual evaluation, but a final, written version was never approved. No evaluation was initiated in 2017.
Riley’s last raise was in 2013, when it increased 3 percent, according to Nancy Gasen, director of human resources for the town.
The most recent changes are effective as of July 1, 2018, according to the motion read by McCann. Riley will receive retroactive pay for the time that passed before his salary increase was approved on July 17, McCann said.
Riley declined to comment on his performance evaluation, salary increase or on comments made about them at the last Town Council meeting when he was contacted on Monday.
Salary comparisons
Likins and Bennett said they supported Riley’s two bonuses, but could not support an increase in his salary.
“I just wanted to state that while I do wholeheartedly support providing Mr. Riley with his bonuses for 2016 and 2017 and acknowledge greatly all of the work that he and the town staff did through hurricane recovery ... I cannot support the 3-percent increase,” Likins said.
Bennett noted he disapproved of the salary increase because Riley’s compensation is already comparable to municipalities that are much larger and have much larger budgets.
“I’ve looked at the salary for the town manager here in comparison to other communities,” Bennett said at the meeting. “Your salary is somewhat commensurate with the salary of the manager (in Columbia), even though the budget for the city of Columbia was nearly five times the size of ours ... .”
Bennett responded to requests for additional comment Monday through a text message that said “the town manager’s salary level prior to the increase authorized by council last week was already in line with those of other managers around the state,” and Riley’s salary “did not need to be increased.”
The population of Columbia is significantly higher than Hilton Head — around 133,000 people in 2017 — according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Columbia’s operating budget for 2019 is $329.8 million, according to Ruby Hampton, administrative coordinator for the city.
According to The State newspaper’s city of Columbia employee database, City Manager Teresa Wilson makes $207,559 a year.
Hilton Head’s population in 2017 was about 40,000, according to the U.S. Census.
The town’s total budget for fiscal year 2019 is $79.6 million.
A city of a more comparable size to Hilton Head is Spartanburg, which has a population of about 37,000, according to the U.S. Census.
Spartanburg’s 2019 budget is more than $20 million less than Hilton Head’s, at $56.9 million, according to documents provided by Christopher George, communications manager for the City of Spartanburg.
Spartanburg City Manager Ed Memmott has an annual salary of $132,000 a year, with a $15,675 deferred salary, George said.
Council member Marc Grant, who voted in favor of giving Riley a pay increase, was the only other council member to comment publicly on his vote, noting he supported the 3-percent salary increase because it is a “standard” raise.
Contacted Monday, McCann said Riley is deserving of his compensation.
“I don’t think we’d be where we are today without him,” he said. “He’s been a vital part of what we do.”
When asked whether the comments about Riley’s salary being comparable to much larger municipalities had merit, McCann said that is like “comparing apples to oranges,” because although Hilton Head has a smaller population than larger cities, at any given time, there are thousands of tourists.
Myrtle Beach, another tourist destination with a steady population of about 32,000, pays its town manager, John Pedersen, $184,407, according to Mark Kruea, public information officer for the city.
Myrtle Beach’s fiscal year 2019 budget is $199.6 million, Kruea said, which is about $120 million more than Hilton Head’s.
McCann said it’s hard to compare budgets of other municipalities to Hilton Head because “you don’t really know what makes up that number” without seeing any detailed documentation.
Ames, who did not make any public comments despite not voting in favor of Riley’s pay increase, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.
What the evaluation said
Riley’s performance evaluation, while mostly positive, was peppered with criticism.
Of 12 categories, Riley received the highest ratings in “budgeting” and “integrity.” His lowest score was in “strategic planning/leadership.” For each category, there is an overall rating and anonymous comments from Town Council members.
Critical comments include:
▪ “Steve has demonstrated little interest or dedication to planning the town’s future,” one comment read. “He has personally participated in few of the town’s Visioning or Arts Enrichment council initiatives.”
▪ “He has continued to show little desire to build consensus or act as a neutral party.”
▪ “I am not persuaded the Town Manager loves his job anymore,” another comment read. “Simply going through the motions without enthusiasm. We need more.”
Similar comments were present in the 2015 evaluation, but those criticisms of Riley had not surfaced in 20 previous annual evaluations.
Most of the 2018 evaluation comments, however, praised Riley for his work, particularly in his preparedness for storms — including the snowstorm in January.
Other praising comments included:
▪ “Steve and his staff continue to do exceptional work in providing town services to our community,” one comment read. “Beach renourishment, storm water management, parks and pathway maintenance are all areas that the town excels in service delivery.”
▪ “He appears to communicate well with the entire community.”
▪ “Steve has always been truthful and honest about his stance on a variety of issues,” another comment read. “He always had a positive attitude, even when we see things differently.”
Bennett and Riley have been at odds with one another since the mayor took office in 2014, two former mayors and a former Town Council member told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette a year ago.
It’s also no secret that Riley has searched for a new job at least five times over the past few years. Town Council secretly hired a law firm to give advice on the matter.
After a string of closed-door discussions about Riley last year, Town Council voted unanimously to support Riley and get rid of outside legal counsel hired to give advice on his employment situation.
Before the public show of support, McCann, Harkins, Lennox and Grant pushed for an end to the closed-door discussions of Riley and publicly supported him.
According to the 2018 evaluation, Riley’s goals and objectives this year should include, among other things:
▪ “Demonstrate vision and leadership in deploying Council’s policy agenda priorities.”
▪ “Exhibit a commitment to creating sincere and productive working relationships with all council members.”
▪ “Frequently attend and participate in Town key initiative meetings.”
In a space designated for Riley to comment in response to his evaluation, the word “NONE” is scrawled.
This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 4:20 PM.