Beaufort County hires two new top officials. Why you may recognize them
Beaufort County has hired a former top Bluffton official to serve as director of human resources while also promoting the county’s chief financial officer to fill the government’s No. 2 job, deputy county administrator.
Scott Marshall, who served as Bluffton’s deputy town manager for roughly five years before a brief stint as interim town manager, will start in the HR position next month.
Current Assistant County Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Whitney Richland will be promoted to the county’s second in command starting Monday, according to a county news release. Richland has been with Beaufort County since October 2020, when she was hired from a similar position in a nearby Georgia county.
The two announcements come just as county leaders have finished negotiating a contract for administrator Eric Greenway and cap off a tumultuous year of changeover within the county government’s top positions.
Marshall’s appointment marks a kind of return for the public servant. After 23 years in the Air Force, Marshall served for about 6 1/2 years leading first the county’s Board of Voter Registration and Elections and then its Parks and Leisure Services department, now Parks and Recreation.
He then held the No. 2 job in Bluffton, briefly serving as interim town manager, before resigning in May after being passed over for the town’s top position.
“It’s a privilege to be able to continue serving the citizens of Beaufort County and to be back on the county staff,” he said in a statement, adding that he looks forward to recruiting and retaining “a talented, diverse workforce that reflects the demographics of our county.”
The HR position was vacated by Padget Cowan, who only held the job for two months before leaving in May, according to his LinkedIn page. Cowan’s hiring and departure went unannounced.
Marshall’s annual salary in the position will be $111,000 plus benefits, according to a news release. He made $142,311 in Bluffton’s interim role.
He will serve under Richland, who will take a leading role in managing the county’s more than 1,400 employees and overseeing all county departments.
Richland, a certified public accountant and government financial manager, served for six years as the CFO of Bulloch County, Georgia, home to Statesboro, northwest of Savannah.
“I look forward to working closely with our County Council and get more involved in a variety of exciting projects that reflect our growth while preserving our precious Lowcountry beauty,” Richland said in a statement.
Her new position will pay $163,000 annually. Richland will fill a position recently vacated by Robert Bechtold, who advocated for government transparency in the role after council members forced his superior, Administrator Ashley Jacobs, to resign in October.
Bechtold learned from a reporter the county had posted his job for applicants and said he applied. He left the county to become the interim director of Riverview Charter School in April.
A county spokesperson said Richland will continue to lead the finance department in addition to her new duties until a replacement is hired. The CFO job is posted on the county’s employment website.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 10:14 AM.
