Hilton Head official promoted to $165K assistant town manager job. He’s in charge of a lot
A longtime town of Hilton Head Island official has been promoted to a new role overseeing a recently merged department with many key administrative duties.
Shawn Colin is now the assistant town manager for community development. He recently served as the town’s interim community development director and senior adviser to Town Manager Marc Orlando.
Colin officially started his new job last week. It’s a wide-ranging position that oversees some of the town’s major responsibilities: capital improvement projects, stormwater engineering, facilities management, beach operations, planning, permitting, the preservation of historic neighborhoods and the review of commercial development plans, among other things.
Colin will also still be the town’s point man on the $290 million U.S. 278 corridor project.
The new position’s annual salary is about $165,345, according to spokeswoman Carolyn Grant.
The town announced Colin’s promotion Monday. He’s now the top land management official on Hilton Head and also is in charge of the new community development department, which was launched in January after the old community development department and the infrastructure services department merged together.
“I will be sort of a last stop on any determinations, interpretations of the land management ordinance,” or LMO, Colin said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Colin joined the town in 2006 as a senior planner and has since held roles as comprehensive planning manager, community development deputy director, community development director, interim deputy town manager, senior adviser to Orlando and interim community development director, according to the town.
“Shawn is a proven leader who has planned and led major initiatives across the town for the last 15 years and has established positive relationships with our residents and stakeholders,” Orlando wrote in a Monday statement.
The town manager in a phone call Wednesday added that Colin has become a go-to contact for community members who have questions about various town projects.
What happens to Hilton Head’s other high-ranking officials?
Colin on Tuesday noted that Angie Stone, another assistant town manager, will continue to oversee the town’s communications, IT and Office of Cultural Affairs.
“This realignment, and me as assistant town manager, doesn’t change her duties,” Colin said.
Orlando confirmed that’s the case.
Additionally, Josh Gruber is still the deputy town manager and is frequently involved in major town projects, such as the recent effort to redraw the island’s six Town Council ward boundaries.
‘Under one umbrella’
Colin and Orlando said the newly merged community development department makes the process of permitting and reviewing developers’ plans more efficient.
“It’s all under one umbrella,” Colin said.
He added that the new department also makes it easier for staff members to communicate on capital projects.
“Translating (the) planning (of) projects into capital projects ... you go from concept to detailed design to engineering drawings to construction, and now we won’t lose anything in the translation,” Colin said.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 11:14 AM.
