This story was updated at 3 p.m. to include a response from councilman Larry McElynn.
At the end of a nearly three-hour workshop involving the Beaufort County council and it’s administrator Michael Moore, District 11 representative Tom Reitz asked what appeared to be a fairly innocuous question, but his query brought into the public light a revelation about an ongoing workplace investigation initiated by the county.
Hannah Nichols, spokesperson for the county, confirmed the existence of the investigation Thursday night. The investigation is being spearheaded by the county’s administration. A labor relations and employment law firm out of Columbia, Bettis Law Group, is conducting the investigation, according to an engagement letter provided by Nichols.
“This is an administration-led investigation into potential violations of the County’s Employee Handbook or policies in regard to the release of confidential, privileged and/or personal information to the public,” Nichols wrote in an email Friday afternoon to The Island Packet.
The investigation opened in June 2024, was suspended, and was reopened in December, Nichols wrote.
“We are being approached by an outside law firm for this investigation,” Reitz said during the public workshop. “Some are participating, some are not. One of the key things that we all focus on is that we are not targeting and that we are not on a witch hunt.”
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