BEAUFORT — Beaufort County's 11-member council thinks the county's whistleblower policy, which describes how employees voice concerns over workplace violations, needs work.
"Clearly, all of us are in agreement that we have to have a much more robust whistleblower policy," said Council member Joe Passiment at an Aug. 28 workshop held specifically to discuss revisions to the policy.
Changes to the current policy, which is included in the county's employee handbook, would affect some 1,161 full and part-time employees. It does not affect the sheriff's office, which is administered separately from county government.
Council Chair Alice Howard credited Council member Larry McElynn for pushing the council to revisit the policy. The update is something he'd been seeking to revisit for years.
"All of these programs need to be reviewed on a continuing basis so that people feel they are being protected when it comes to reporting waste, fraud and abuse," he said.
Council Vice Chair Anna Maria Tabernik pointed to the high-profile firing of former county administrator Eric Greenway as part of the reason for the discussion. Greenway was terminated by County Council in 2023 and later investigated for allegations of misconduct and financial mismanagement.
"That was serious and it was probably the spark," Howard said.
The county has faced a number of issues with its administration since Greenway's departure.
Since the first of the year, county council has held a number of special-called...
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