Former Beaufort County official Greenway to address council Monday. What can we expect?
On Monday, former Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway will address the County Council for what could be the last time in his career. He will argue during a public hearing that he was wrongfully terminated in late July.
County Council Chair Joe Passiment told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that the public hearing should be cut and dry.
“We’re going to lay out exactly why we terminated him,” said Passiment. “He’s going to respond to that. We’re going to end the meeting.”
Perhaps of most interest to the public will be the information revealed about what’s been going on behind the scenes.
“We said at the right time, we would divulge exactly what we did and why we did it,” said Passiment. “And that’s what’s going to happen on Monday.”
Greenway’s hearing will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at the Beaufort County Council Chambers at 100 Ribaut Road in Beaufort.
Investigation and termination
A lot has happened since the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office announced Greenway was under investigation for alleged misconduct on July 3. Shortly after, it was revealed that the investigation would be handled by the Public Integrity Unit, a joint task force of the 1st and 14th Circuit Solicitor’s offices.
Still, months later, no word has been given on what exactly is being investigated.
When the investigation was announced, the County Council claimed to be totally in the dark about what was going on.
“The Sheriff’s Office and the newspaper know more than I do, unfortunately,” said Council member Logan Cunningham at the time.
Despite the investigation, some members of council were confident in their administrator.
“No one is above the law,” said Councilperson Mark Lawson at the time. “We we all have to play by the same rules. I’ve known Eric a long time. I still trust him. I think that he’s done a great job for us.”
But over the course of a month, the council soured on Greenway, voting unanimously to put him on paid leave by July 24.
Two days later, the finance committee approved a contract with a law firm to perform multiple audits on county expenditures.
On July 28, during the County Council’s third special called meeting of the week, officials voted to fire Greenway in a 10-0 vote.
Harassment and retaliation
Multiple accusations have come to light about Greenway since the tumultuous final week of July.
Most prominently were the accusations of harassment and retaliation from a former county employee and contractor, Lisa Lynch.
Lynch and her sister-in-law, Angie Hassinger, were contracted with the county through their company Elementzal LLC. They were paid $275 an hour for consulting work related to opioid abatement strategies.
Lynch alleged that Greenway hoped to pursue her romantically. In text messages, he told her he created a position in the county for her. Lynch was hired as Beaufort County’s director of wellness.
However, in early May, after Lynch brought her boyfriend to a party attended by Greenway, she said the administrator texted his displeasure. “Be aware of what you gave up tonight and what this will cost you,” the text reads. “But have f***ing fun because you are now just an employee of Beaufort County and I’ve lost all trust and affinity for you!”
Blankets
Another possible factor in the investigation was an attempt to buy nearly $36,000 worth of weighted blankets from the deputy administrator’s husband’s company.
An itemized invoice to Beaufort County, with Greenway listed as the contact, lists 518 blankets and 316 blanket covers from a company by the name of R&R Home. R&R Home is owned by Richland Trading Company, an LLC owned by Andrew Richland, the husband of former Deputy Administrator Whitney Richland.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette confirmed that the purchase did not go through.
Interim Administrator John Robinson would not discuss the blankets outside of confirming the county was investigating.
Whitney Richland resigned from her role as deputy administrator on Aug. 18. Beaufort County would not release a reason for Richland’s resignation. She has been replaced on an interim basis by former finance director Denise Christmas.
This story was originally published September 10, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
