Tony Santiago
It’s easy to spend freely when it’s not your money.
Isle of Palms’ recent decision to award a 26% raise to the new city administrator — a $180,000 starting salary, $38,000 more than his predecessor — is not just a one-off. It’s a spark that could ignite runaway costs across city government.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about whether the administrator is a good person or even qualified. It’s not about resisting fair wages or pushing good people away. We all want to retain skilled professionals and compensate them competitively for the quality services they provide.
This is about process, precedent and priorities. The decision was made behind closed doors, without public input, competitive comparison or justification for such a dramatic increase. When one department’s top job jumps that much in pay, it doesn’t take long for others to follow.
To their credit, four council members — Jan Anderson, John Bogosian, Katie Miars and Scott Pierce — took a courageous stand and voted against this inflationary action. Their commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparent governance deserves recognition.
The ripple effect is real. Based on existing budget data, if other departments received similar raises over the next few years, the city’s total annual salary obligations could balloon by more than $2 million. That’s before factoring in overtime, benefits or cost-of-living increases — and long before we talk about big-ticket items like beach renourishment, where outdated cost estimates are already falling apart.
Our last shoal management project came in 25% over budget. A larger beach project, once estimated at $22.6 million, is now projected at $27 million — and that’s likely still low. The city may be forced to drain reserve funds to cover the gap, and there is no sustainable plan to replace what we spend.
This is how cities end up in financial meltdown: by making isolated decisions that seem manageable in the moment but compound quickly and quietly over time.
And it’s not just us. Across South Carolina, the tone is shifting. The state Legislature is moving to reduce earmarks and push municipalities to live within their means. Pandemic-era surpluses are gone. The federal government is pulling back. Cities like ours must become more self-reliant — and more disciplined.
We are a small barrier island, not a booming metro. Our budget should reflect that. Every dollar spent from our public coffers is a dollar that comes from residents, businesses or future services. We deserve thoughtful stewardship, not a culture of casual overspending and inflated contracts.
The salary spike for the new administrator is just the latest example of a growing problem: spending other people’s money with no regard for long-term impact. If we don’t course-correct now, we won’t just be broke — we’ll be stuck with obligations we can’t afford and promises we can’t keep.
