Former Beaufort County officer questions investigation | Beaufort County

BEAUFORT – Beaufort County Council has been criticized in recent weeks for failing to provide a comprehensive report following an investigation into the county’s spending habits – with the latest criticism coming from an unexpected source.

Mark Moore, a Columbia-based attorney who represents former county administrator Eric Greenway, raised concerns about the investigation in an April 12 letter, saying the investigation “needs to be supplemented and clarified if it is fair, accurate and balanced.” should be”. The Post and Courier obtained a copy of the letter, which was addressed to Greenville-based attorney Boyd Nicholson Jr. of the law firm Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd.

Greenway was the only county official named when an oral summary of the investigation, prepared by Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, was presented to the county council during its March 25 meeting. Speaking to the council, Nicholson said several people at the top of the county’s governing structure had willfully violated or completely ignored the county’s procurement regulations.

“While it is easy now to look back and criticize the conduct – in some cases inaction – of district staff regarding their procurement and purchasing activities over the past year, it is important to remember that there were some of the most serious problems with the procurement process “There came from the top of Beaufort County government, namely the former county administrator,” Nicholson told the council.

In his letter, Moore said he and Greenway were “gravely concerned” about whether the investigation was sufficient. Greenway, Moore said, was neither interviewed nor asked to contribute as part of the investigation into Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd.

“It appears that some members of the Beaufort County Council are intent on developing an extremely one-sided narrative designed to demonize Mr. Greenway and blame him for all long-standing problems in Beaufort County government,” Moore wrote.

Nicholson declined to comment on Moore’s letter, citing an obligation to maintain confidentiality surrounding his firm’s representation of the county.

The Rise and Fall of Greenway

Greenway began working for the county in 2018. He was named interim county administrator in November 2020 and was named county administrator the following May. His tenure was thrown into disarray in early July 2023 when it was announced that the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was investigating him over allegations of misconduct. The details of this claim have not yet been released.

The investigation into Greenway’s conduct has changed hands several times. After consulting with 14th District Attorney Duffie Stone, Sheriff PJ Tanner turned the case over to the Public Integrity Unit. Then, in December 2023, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office would take over the investigation. A spokesman in Wilson’s office said he could not comment on the current status of the investigation.

On July 24, 2023, the Beaufort County Council voted unanimously to place Greenway on paid administrative leave, although the reasons for her action were not made public at the time. At the same time, they approved an investigation into the county’s spending in its procurement and P-Card purchasing systems. Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd was tasked with completing the investigation, and in August the council approved spending $350,000 on the investigation.

Greenway’s employment was terminated just four days after he was placed on leave. Again, the council did not state the reason for its action, but after Greenway challenged his firing, a special hearing was scheduled for September 11th. At that hearing, it was revealed that his employment was terminated due to numerous alleged irregularities relating to hiring practices related to the execution of a consulting contract with a company called Elementzal LLC.

Criticism paved

The study of county spending focused on two different systems and two different time frames. Expenditures made through the county’s procurement system in 2023 should be reviewed, while four years of transactions from the county’s P-Card system, from 2019 to 2023, should be audited.

Moore states in his letter that in his March 25 presentation to Beaufort County Council, Nicholson blamed Greenway for a “culture of laxity” that led to procurement law violations. He added that Greenway became acting administrator in late 2020, nearly two years after the review period began. However, the audit of purchases in the procurement system only covered transactions in 2023, and the three examples of procurement code violations presented by Nicholson occurred during Greenway’s tenure as county administrator.

Moore’s letter said the investigation concluded that “district management’s failure to adhere to purchasing guidelines was the result of willful disobedience of or ignorance of the law” without providing evidence to support its claim. Moore further complains that regular county audits have not uncovered the deficiencies uncovered by the Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd investigation.

“How could Mr. Greenway correct alleged financial irregularities when the county’s own audits did not alert him to such alleged problems?” Moore wrote.

In his report, Nicholson said spending on the county’s P-Card system increased 85 percent from $1.1 million in 2019 to $2 million in 2023, adding that the Spending is excessive, personal, frivolous and not business oriented. While he said purchase permits are routinely not handled appropriately, Nicholson did not blame Greenway or any other county employee or elected official for the lack of fiscal oversight.

Still, Moore countered that Greenway never carried a P-Card and never authorized “excessive, personal (and) frivolous” purchases.

An elusive report

While the county approved the Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd investigation and authorized expenditures of up to $350,000 for the study, a full written report detailing the investigation findings and analysis of the county-ordered expenditures has not yet been released. It is unclear whether it even exists.

In the days following the March 25 council meeting, two council members, David Bartholomew and Thomas Reitz, complained that county council members had not received the investigation report.

“I want to have confidence in the investigation conducted by (Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd), but without a full report I will continue to be skeptical of its findings,” Bartholomew wrote.

On March 28, the Post and Courier filed an open records request with the county requesting a copy of the report and all supporting documentation. State law gives the county 30 days to provide the requested information. After the 30-day deadline, an inquiry regarding the status of the application was sent to the county, and the county responded with a request for a 10-day extension.

The county did not respond to a request for comment on Moore’s letter.