Bluffton appoints new interim town manager. When does he start?
Bluffton Town Council agreed Tuesday night to appoint Scott Marshall as the town’s interim manager, replacing outgoing Manager Marc Orlando.
Marshall, currently the town’s deputy manager, was named to the position after the Town of Hilton Head Island announced late last month it would sign Orlando to its top job.
Tuesday’s appointment also gave more insight into when Orlando plans to leave the town. Mayor Lisa Sulka announced that Marshall would start in his job on Jan. 20, with a base salary of $142,311 — a 16% raise.
Orlando’s upcoming move across the water, announced Dec. 30, came as a surprise to Hilton Head residents and Bluffton officials. After what some called a secret hiring process in which Orlando was not publicly named as a candidate, officials have yet to say when Orlando will start work on Hilton Head.
He has been in Bluffton’s top role for six years.
Sulka said Tuesday’s meeting was likely Orlando’s last full council meeting in Bluffton.
Marshall has worked as Bluffton’s deputy town manager since 2015, according to his Linkedin profile. Before that, he worked for Beaufort County, serving as executive director of the board of elections from 2009 to 2013, and then as director of the county’s Parks and Leisure Services department from 2013 to 2015.
He also served two years in the U.S. Air Force.
For those following Bluffton politics, Marshall’s appointment came as no surprise.
Mayor Sulka previously told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that the town would install an interim town manager, likely Marshall, by Jan. 1.
Bluffton’s upcoming search for a permanent town manager arrives as the County Council is grappling with a similar situation. In October, a majority of Beaufort County Council members forced County Administrator Ashley Jacobs to resign.
The following month, council members subsequently bypassed the county’s chain of command and appointed Planning Director Eric Greenway as interim administrator.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 4:46 AM.
