Despite the majority of Beaufort County Council members choosing to keep the full report of the investigation into former County Administrator Eric Greenway under wraps, at least one council member has been vocal about concerns surrounding the investigation process and advocating for transparency since March 2024.
Readers may recall that the County Council hired Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A., a Greenville, SC-based law firm, to investigate Greenway. Initial findings from this investigation were provided to the county on March 25, 2024. David Bartholomew, the representative for District 2 which includes the City of Beaufort as well as Coosaw, Harbor, Fripp and Lady’s Islands, immediately raised concerns about what Haynsworth presented and the form in which it was provided.
On March 27, 2024, Councilman Bartholomew sent a strongly worded email to his County Council colleagues, urging the county to waive attorney-client privilege and “make any written report publicly available”. He emphasized that a significant portion of the population “has lost confidence in government at all levels” and that releasing the written report would help restore trust in their elected representatives.
In an August 14, 2024 conversation with Beaufort Insider, Councilman Bartholomew stated that he would have preferred a private audit or investigations firm had been hired to complete the report instead of an attorney. He stated that the county should have seen the current difficulties with attorney-client privilege coming when they originally hired Haynsworth.
In his March 27th email, Bartholomew highlighted the rumors he had heard regarding the existence of a written report:
- There is no written report generated by HSB.
- There is a report that has been submitted, and staff is currently working through it with the legal department.
- A report has been submitted to the county legal department, which is being redacted with the intent of circulating the redacted version to the council.
Bartholomew asserted that if a written report had indeed been generated by Haynsworth, it was crucial for the County Council to receive the full version.
Further evidence of the effort to keep pertinent information from the public came in the form of County Council Chairman Passimet’s reply to all who received Bartholomew’s email: “DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL OR ANY OTHER EMAIL REGARDING THIS MATTER. Any reply, especially ‘reply all,’ will constitute an electronic meeting and be subject to FOIA.”
What is certain is that Haynsworth presented some findings to the County Council during a meeting on March 25, 2024. In his email, Bartholomew noted that these findings only referenced issues already publicly known, such as a contract awarded to a county employee’s family member for weighted blankets, noncompliance with county purchasing policy for hundreds of thousands of dollars in playground equipment, and questions surrounding Greenway’s hiring of an apparent romantic interest. Bartholomew expressed skepticism that these were the only significant issues uncovered in the investigation.
Bartholomew also questioned why Haynsworth relied on the county’s in-house IT department for access to county information instead of using an independent IT vendor. He voiced concerns about the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by the in-house IT team. Troubled by this potential flaw in the investigation, Bartholomew discussed the matter with Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
On July 23, 2024, the county released a six-page investigation summary signed by Chairman Passiment, which was an abridged version of a 30+-page detailed report by Haynsworth. To date, the County Council has refused to release the detailed report to the public, or even to Beaufort County’s sheriff.
In the same August 14, 2024 conversation with Beaufort Insider, Councilman Bartholomew stated that the council will vote on August 26th about whether or not to release the report to law enforcement. Bartholomew said that he hopes the council will vote in favor of releasing the full report to both the Beaufort County Sheriff’s office and the SC State Attorney General’s office. Bartholomew hopes that releasing the report to law enforcement will help further the investigations that they have already started and get closer to a point when the public can have all the information.
Bartholomew also told Beaufort Insider that he looks forward to a time when the public will be able to see the full report and know all the details about what has gone on in the county. Bartholomew stated that he has confidence in the county’s new administrator, Michael Moore, and that Moore is already making moves to regain the public’s trust and address the issues that necessitated the current investigation. Speaking of Administrator Moore, Bartholomew said, “I believe he’s a man of honor trying to do the right thing.”
A majority of County Council members continue to insist on handling the Greenway investigation behind closed doors. Among those advocating for secrecy are the three members whose seats are up for election on November 5, 2024: Gerald Dawson in District 1, York Glover in District 3, and Logan Cunningham in District 7.
Meanwhile, Councilman Bartholomew remains steadfast in his call for transparency. However, he and his colleagues Paula Brown and Thomas Reitz have been outvoted by the majority of council members who are determined to keep the investigation concealed.
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