By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Selected by Beaufort County Council in late May 2024, Michael Moore officially began working in his position as Beaufort County Administrator on July 1, almost a year after former County Administrator Eric Greenway was terminated from the position, giving way to Interim County Administrator John Robinson.
“Mr. Moore has been appointed by unanimous consent of Council to the position of Beaufort County Administrator,” County Council Vice Chairman Larry McElynn said at the May 28 Council meeting. “He has the full confidence and full support of Council who wish him good luck and good fortune as he assumes the duties of the position of Beaufort County Administrator.”
Moore had been serving as the Assistant County Manager in York County, S.C. He is a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served as a commissioned officer and an aviator prior to his retirement and entry into local government.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Moore spoke with The Island News about his decision to come to Beaufort County and some of the challenges ahead.
Why Beaufort County?
First of all, why Beaufort County?
“First off, I’m a veteran. … And it’s a good military community here. I mean, I’ve been in the state for about three-and-a-half years. I was up in York County after I retired. We like the state. … I’ve been in local government for the three-and-a-half years. And I aspired to move up in local government, if you will.
“So this opportunity presented itself. But not only that, I have some extended family that live in the area here. So that was a good thing. Obviously, being a Navy person, we lived on the coast. So we like the coast. So from a perspective of quality of life, it’s a great place.
“The opportunity was here to be the administrator. So that’s part of what brought me here. And I think the community here is great. The military, a lot of retirees, which I can identify with. A lot of people would say, ‘local government’ and want to know how much brain function you’ve lost. Yeah. I can understand that. But I think on the other hand, local government matters.”
Moore had experience running a base in the Navy — Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, on the island of Crete in Greece – as well as spending time as a Chief of Staff, and said those experiences helped prepare him for a career in local government.
“Being the chief of staff, I ran a lot of the day-to-day functions of, like, you know, security, fire, emergency, public works, all those type of things. So that’s what kind of got me into the business. Obviously, that experience helps.”
He also learned about what made a job in local government quite different than his military career.
“In the military, you’re dealing with … officials, but you’re not dealing, like, with, you know, the Council, with an elected body. You know, that’s one difference. I think economic development, there’s some components of what the military does that’s different. So, like, you know, some of the functions here are different. You know, the planning and zoning. A lot of those things you don’t do in the military. So there’s functions at local governments that we don’t necessarily have in the military. Obviously, in the military, there’s functions we don’t have in local government.”
A troubled destination
Moore comes to the Lowcountry at a time when it’s fair to say the Beaufort County government has been troubled, to say the least. Over the past year alone, the County Administrator, an Assistant County Administrator and the Parks and Recreation Director have all been fired and there have been at least eight ethics investigations opened into members of the Beaufort County administration.
The County has recently settled one lawsuit, filed in 2020, with Treasurer Maria Walls, while a second is still pending. Those lawsuits are related to the actions of former Auditor Jim Beckert, a man twice sued by the County to force him to actually do his job.
And in September, it became known that a South Carolina grand jury has issued a series of subpoenas requesting that Beaufort County supply financial records related to possible contract, purchasing and procurement misconduct.
Did Moore know what he was walking into?
“I think I had a good lay of the land for the most part. I think in terms of, you know, what happened to the previous administrator. Obviously, being in the state, you know, the stories were out there of what had happened and so forth. And I think in working, you know, when I was going through the process with the Council, you know, they were pretty up front about they wanted change. You know, they had been through – I mean, was it seven administrators the past eight years, something like that?
“And so, the sense I got from them is they wanted some stability. That was probably the first thing they said is, ‘We would like some stability here.’ And I offered that. And, you know, I offered that, you know, I came from the military. I believe in ethics in terms of how we do business. And that’s important. And the Council, in the interview process, acknowledged that and accepted that as part of the process.
“There’s always things you learn that you don’t know 100% coming in. I probably knew 70%. There’s always things you find out [and say], ‘Wow, … if I’d have known that, would it have changed my mind?’ You know, maybe. But I still think it’s an opportunity. As I said before, I still think it’s a great community.
“I think the citizens deserve good government. And I will do my best to provide that. That’s kind of my goal. And that’s the way I want to do business.”
Moore said that Beaufort County has had its share of issues, but it’s not the only local government that’s had its share of issues.
“Just go look at New York City. That’s a real nightmare scenario.”
Moore said he reached out to professional contacts who knew things about the situation in Beaufort and those sources were fairly accurate, so he wasn’t walking into the situation totally blind.
Transparency as a goal
What may be as troubling as the County government’s legal and ethical issues is the way it has handled them – with very little transparency.
As a result of investigations into Greenway’s actions as County Administrator, the Council ordered an independent audit of the County’s procurement processes and employees’ use of P-Cards.
The County Council long refused to release the results of the audit (outside of a summary), received this past spring, to the public, the media, or even law enforcement, despite the fact it is a public document.
(The Council ultimately voted in late August to release the results to law enforcement – Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office — while continuing to ignore numerous Freedom of Information Act requests. The Council’s acquiescence and release of the audit came too late, however to prevent the empanelling of a S.C. grand jury, which subpoenaed the audit results, a request the Council could not refuse.)
While the release of the audit falls on the County Council, Moore addressed the issue, under direction of the County Council, by tightening the County’s procurement rules. The toughened rules were released to the public in July.
“I think you have to be a person who’s willing to say, ‘no’ at times. I think you have to be somebody who, just because we did it this way before, doesn’t mean we need to do this way again. And I think, [like] what we’ve done [with] the new procurement code. So I think instilling that process in staff, [saying] ‘This is the process. This is how we’re going to do business. …’ And you have to sometimes be unpopular to say, ‘… this is not how we’re going to do business.’ And if it gets to a point at which you feel like you can’t get to where you need to go, then you’ve got some decisions to make, right?”
In the end, Moore said, it’s about the taxpayers and making sure the county is getting the best value for its dollar.
“I think at the end of the day, that’s my goal, … the taxpayer. I pay taxes. I’m a resident now, so I’ve got my own personal skin in the game. I own a house. So, being a taxpayer, you know, I want value for my dollar, too.”
In the end, he said, transparency, going forward, is about “setting the tone up front and holding yourself accountable to that standard. Because I think if leadership’s not willing to do that, you’re never going to get change.”
The next challenge
Another upcoming challenge for Moore is on the ballot for November’s General Election.
Beaufort County voters will again vote on a continuation of a “Beaufort Penny” on the local sales tax. If approved, the tax would continue for 10 more years and $950 million, which ever comes first. The revenue would be used only for transportation improvements in Beaufort County.
The problem for the County is that it seems impossible for voters to differentiate between this renewal of the “Beaufort Penny” and the 2018 referendum that created the tax. Only a small number of the several dozen projects that were supposed to benefit from that tax have actually been undertaken by the County.
“I think all we can do is educate the public, you know, and tell them, these are the projects, this is where we are today, and this is how we got to where we are. If you look at each one of the projects, there’s a number of factors that play into that. And I think, you know, the public just needs to understand that.
“… You had a number of projects that weren’t complete, a number of projects went over budget. And I think if you look at what’s happened in the time with COVID, … there’s no question costs have gone up. And a lot of the affordability of these projects that we budgeted three or four years ago, those budgets have changed. So, you know, I think all we can really do is educate the public and demonstrate to them that, you know, and it’s, it’s a challenge because, you know, people are going to say, well, you know, why should I put my faith in you all? Because you haven’t delivered on these projects.
“But, you know, I think the key is to, you know, just show here’s the projects we’re going to, that are on the ballot. Here’s what you’re going to vote on. And, you know, let the voters make the decision. Is it, is it worth another one cent or is it not?”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
