Town manager’s surprise move from Bluffton to Hilton Head ‘shocked’ leaders, residents
Marc Orlando is moving across the water.
The 49-year-old town manager for Bluffton will begin his job as town manager for neighboring Hilton Head Island in early 2021.
His appointment, announced Wednesday evening by town leaders, surprised island residents, who weren’t expecting news on the process of hiring a manager — much less a finalized candidate — until the end of January.
Leaders in Bluffton were also unaware of his job offer.
“It was a shock, and I had no idea,” Mayor Lisa Sulka told The Island Packet Thursday. “This is where he feels he needs to grow, and if he’s happy, we’re happy.”
Sulka said she knew Orlando was interviewing, but the next call she received was Wednesday night about the official offer from Hilton Head.
Orlando will now negotiate a contract with the town. No salary or start date has been set publicly, but the Town of Bluffton requires a 90-day resignation notice. Sulka said she would appoint an interim immediately, perhaps signaling Orlando will be in his new job sooner.
Ward 2 representative Bill Harkins said Orlando submitted his interest in the position and credentials “out of the blue,” and met with every member of Town Council in recent weeks for unofficial interviews.
His hiring in the job ignored the public process the Town Council said it wanted in hiring the island’s next chief executive officer. Steve Riley, retiring after 26 years, leaves big shoes to fill.
The process of hiring the town manager in closed-door session without any public input put the representatives on the defensive Wednesday. All but one Town Council member sang Orlando’s praises and supported the behind-the-scenes hiring process.
“I am very enthusiastic about Marc Orlando’s being Hilton Head’s next town manager. He’s done an amazing job in Bluffton. More times than I’d like to admit, I’ve envied Bluffton’s attitude,” Ward 3 representative David Ames said.
“Given that a substantial amount of his professional career and accomplishments have taken place only 15 miles away, he is uniquely suited to this position and possesses knowledge that many other potential candidates would simply not have,” the town wrote in a press release.
One council member appeared to try to blunt criticism of the process.
“This is not an election,” Ward 6 representative Glenn Stanford said. “This is a selection to be made by public officials.”
A ‘back channel’ to get the job?
Residents were quick to weigh in on the decision.
“Setting aside any qualifications Marc Orlando may have as the Town Manager, and despite Town Council’s statements about public involvement, there was significant disregard for the public in this purported ‘process,’” Patsy Brison and Rise Prince wrote in a statement from their group Coalition of Island Neighbors, which advocates for transparency.
“Mr. Orlando had the opportunity to participate in the national search for Town Manager, yet he chose to use a back channel to secure this position,” they wrote in a statement on the decision.
Others were more excited.
“Wow! Welcome Marc! This is a great move for HHI! Wooohooo!” Hilton Head singer Gregg Russell wrote on Facebook in response to the public meeting livestream.
“Thank you all for the warm welcome! We are so honored and blessed,” Orlando’s wife, Jaclyn, wrote.
While some celebrated the appointment of a young, familiar face, others were troubled by the reliance on what Ward 1 representative Alex Brown called “secret backroom deals” to fill the job.
Although Orlando is a “viable candidate,” Brown said, “the process to hire him does not meet my satisfaction.”
He said he had promised residents that the selection be “open and inclusive.”
”I will do my duty to hold him responsible and accountable for leading us forward,” Brown said of Orlando. “I hope we take a real close look at our organizational chart and put citizens at the top of it.”
Orlando failed to return four calls Wednesday, one call and one text Thursday for comment.
What’s next for Bluffton?
Bluffton officials expressed support for Orlando on Thursday.
“I’m happy for him and his family. As most young job seekers do, he found better opportunities for him and his family. Those opportunities are outside Bluffton,” council member Fred Hamilton told The Island Packet.
Mayor Sulka said the town would install an interim town manager, likely Deputy Town Manager Scott Marshall, on Jan. 1.
Unlike Hilton Head, she promised to hold a public search process for the next permanent town manager.
“I know we’ll find somebody in a public process that will make everyone happy,” she said. “But it’s hard in a pandemic and to have no knowledge” of Orlando’s departure.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 10:03 AM.
