By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Deputy County Administrator Whitney Richland has resigned from her position as of August 18, 2023, according to a statement issued by Beaufort County on Wednesday afternoon.
This statement comes after several weeks of inquiries into the employment of Richland after several sources told The Island News that she was allegedly seen packing up her office on August 9.
Requests for official confirmation about Richland’s employment status with Beaufort County went unanswered until Wednesday, August 23.
Beaufort County has declined to comment regarding the reasoning behind Richland’s sudden resignation.
“There will be no additional information provided as Beaufort County does not comment on personnel matters,” the statement read.
Richland’s resignation comes at a tumultuous time for Beaufort County, less than a month after Beaufort County Council’s decision to terminate the contract of former County Administrator Eric Greenway for cause.
Council is also about to begin the process of interviewing firms to come in and do an audit of the P-Card system, a review of all 2023 contracts, 2023 purchases, a review of the procurement codes for Beaufort County.
The former Deputy County Administrator has been publicly accused by Lisa Lynch, the former Director of Wellness for Beaufort County, of firing her in retaliation for Lynch agreeing to work with law enforcement who are currently investigating Greenway in a criminal investigation regarding a complaint for misconduct in the office filed against him in May 2023.
Richland is also being investigated by the S.C. State Ethics Commission after a Beaufort County citizen filed a complaint alleging that Greenway attempted to purchase almost 600 weighted blankets from a company called R&R Homes, owned by Richland’s husband, for a sum of $35,644 in April 2023.
When reached for comment, Richland responded that she was not interested in making a comment at this time.
Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She joined The Island News in 2022. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
