As outlined in the February 21st edition of The Island Eye, Mayor Phillip Pounds has again completely disregarded process and a parade of outcry from citizen comments.
Let’s review the facts.
There was no public disclosure or discussion of any of the three external finalist candidate qualifications for the most important of city positions, the IOP Administrator (CEO). The city human resource manager has “slow walked” all FOIA requests related to the search while serving as a direct report to the interim city administrator and candidate, Douglas Kerr.
Per multiple reports in the Post & Courier, news outlets, and Island Eye News, Mayor Pounds discussed Kerr’s newly discovered interest at a proposed salary level of $180,000. Without authority and void of process, Pounds adds Kerr to the interview list. There was no vote of the committee and no vote of the council. Pounds had zero authority to act unilaterally. Furthermore, Pounds proposed that the IOP Council not even interview the three finalist candidates that the For Good People (FGP) search firm had already scheduled for interviews and made travel arrangements.
Kerr has repeatedly stated to Council Members and the public his desire to retire; however, following his conversation with Pounds, he’s magically moved to the lead position with a minimum salary requirement of $180,000 to accept the position, a 27% increase from the recently departed city administrator who had a master’s degree in public administration and many years’ experience as a city administrator. Kerr’s recent salary as deputy administrator, according to IOP posted salary, was $121,914. Kerr’s interest is understandable, as his retirement salary moves from approximately $60,000/year to $90,000/year, a lifetime benefit approaching $1,000,000. Perhaps Pounds can explain to the public his personal justification for the continued breach of process and ethical standards. Is this an attempt to control city administration by “purchasing influence and loyalty”? The city administrator serves the community, and any appearance of impropriety is disconcerting.
The Mayor Pounds’ News 2 interview states his reasoning for the selection: “We’ve had a significant amount of turnover in our leadership.” Let’s review that statement. Other than planned retirements, IOP leadership has almost zero turnover. IOP hired Police Chief Cornett in 2020 and Fire Chief Oliverius in 2022, both with full council due process and public disclosure of qualifications. Our Recreation Director was an internal promotion following the retirement of the previous Director. The Finance Director was hired two years ago to replace the retiring Director, and Public Works has a fully qualified succession-planned candidate to replace the current Director. Pound's statements lack credibility. With a seasoned and qualified executive team in place who possess the “institutional knowledge” Pounds said was at risk, and the stated objective of Kerr’s retirement plans, there was no better time to make the administrator change. Next up, “We have a lot of projects going on.” Could this be the long-planned Waterway bike path? This is pure comedy, as the projects underway preceded his mayoral tenure.
With public disclosure of FGP’s three (3) selected candidates blocked by IOP HR/Administration, residents are rightfully questioning the unethical selection for this critical city position. February 26th, as predicted, Councilman Hahn makes a motion to negotiate with Kerr. The motion to hire Kerr passes with a 6-3 vote. The pay package vote passed with a 5-4 vote to offer “package C.”. Anyone interested in betting on the “enticed candidate pay package”? The over/under is $180,000.
Is FGP (search firm) “negotiating” with Kerr, or is the salary a “fait de complet” at $180,000? Comparable position salaries are below $150,000, with that figure assuming advanced degrees in public administration and previous city administrative experience.
IOP will now pay FGP 20% ($36,000 at $180K) of year one salary plus expenses for the advice and work product ignored by the voting majority.
Anyone viewing or listening to the February 25th Council meeting and citizen comments should be disgusted by this mayor’s disturbing, irresponsible, and unethical actions. Begs the even more disturbing and unanswered question—WHY?
To Mayor Pounds comment, “Hopefully we can put this behind us and move forward…..” When the unethical behavior stops and appropriate corrective actions are taken, our beloved Isle of Palms can heal and move forward. It starts with city leadership, not mayoral platitudes.
