By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Thomas Keaveny, the Beaufort County Attorney for Elected Officials, has announced that he will be retiring in October of this year.
The announcement was made by Beaufort County Council Chairman Joseph Passiment following executive session in the July 15, 2024, county council meeting.
According to a release from Beaufort County, Keaveny has assisted with infrastructure projects such as ensuring the completion of S.C. 170’s widening in 2015, helping to facilitate the 2018 Transportation Sales Tax Referendum and working with FEMA to get reimbursement for private property debris removal following Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
In the release, Thomas is quoted saying, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside fellow staff, esteemed members of County Council, other elected officials, boards and commissions.
While the chairman and release from Beaufort County were positive, Keaveny’s journey with Beaufort County has not been a smooth one.
According to previous reporting by The Island Packet, Keaveny was hired as a county attorney in May 2015, which is a position that he kept until he was demoted to deputy county attorney in January 2020.
At some point in the past four years, Keaveny was promoted back to the county attorney position.
Keaveny also briefly served as interim County Administrator after Josh Gruber parted ways with the county in July 2018, but resigned after two months, according to reporting from The Island Packet.
He resigned from the role one day after council members voted to investigate the legality of a $24,000 consulting contract that Keaveny signed in July 2018.
Passiment said of Keaveny, “We are deeply grateful for the exceptional service and unwavering dedication Mr. Keaveny has provided to Beaufort County. His legal expertise and counsel have played a pivotal role in the success of this County and Council. We will miss him greatly and hope that the entire community of Beaufort will join us in sending our best wishes to Mr. Keaveny as he embarks on his well-deserved retirement.”
It is unclear at this point who will step in to assume Keaveny’s role while a search is conducted for his replacement.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
