Beaufort County appoints its next permanent administrator. Here’s who got the job
Beaufort County Council decided Monday evening to appoint Eric Greenway as the county’s permanent administrator, shirking a nationwide search and removing Greenway’s interim tag.
County Council members plan to negotiate Greenway’s contract and starting salary soon, said Council member Paul Sommerville. Greenway’s seven-month interim contract was set to expire on June 30.
Greenway was appointed interim administrator in November, weeks after Beaufort County Council forced former Administrator Ashley Jacobs to resign. He’s the sixth person to serve in the county’s highest non-elected position in just four years.
Beaufort County’s unanimous decision to appoint Greenway came after an almost two-hour executive session Monday.
In open session, each council member spoke about why they wanted Greenway to remain in the job. Several highlighted the desire to promote from within rather than pursue a costly nationwide search.
“[He] has brought stability, increased morale and has demonstrated a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience needed for this position,” Council Chair Joe Passiment said. “During this time, we have been able to assess his performance and potential, which takes the guesswork out of the hiring process at this time.”
Council member Larry McElynn said that during Greenway’s “trial run” as interim administrator, he improved employee morale and the relationship between council and administration. McElynn touted Greenway’s “emotional intelligence.”
Greenway will be the county’s top employee, creating a vision for the county (a comprehensive plan is in the works), crafting a budget, managing employees and working with local municipalities such as Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island.
His appointment comes as the county is in the midst of several controversies and lawsuits, including a legal battle with Hilton Head over a recently imposed service fee for law enforcement.
He also comes to the permanent role after the county’s previous administrator was forced to resign. Since Jacobs’ departure, most members of council have refused to publicly discuss why they wanted her gone.
Greenway’s history
Before becoming interim administrator, Greenway had worked as Beaufort County’s planning/community development director since January 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before that, he served as planning director for three different governments: Berkeley County, Bryan County in Georgia and, most recently, a four-month stint in the city of Kings Mountain in North Carolina.
Greenway stepped down as Berkeley County’s chief planner in August 2015, according to an article in The Berkeley Independent. The article does not say why.
In 2017, The Savannah Morning News reported that Greenway resigned from his job in Bryan County after the county’s commission held an executive session “on a personnel matter.”
According to the article, Bryan County Administrator Ben Taylor said Greenway resigned “to accept a position closer to home and his family.”
