Administration

Duties of the Town Manager

Under the Council Manager form of government, the Town Manager is the chief executive officer and head of the administrative branch of the municipal government.  As such, he is accountable and responsible to the Mayor and Council for the conduct of all affairs of the municipality.  Subject to South Carolina statue, he shall: 

1. Appoint officers and employees of the town and fix salaries, and authorize department heads to appoint or remove subordinates; and

2. prepare an annual budget submitted to Mayor and Council; and

3. prepare a complete annual report on the finances and administrative activities of the Town for the preceding fiscal year; and

4. advises Mayor and Council of the financial condition and future needs of the Town; and

5. performs other duties prescribed by law or required of him by Mayor and Council.

The description above can be likened to the private sector model, where the Mayor and Council acts as the Board of Directors of the corporation; with the Mayor being the Chairman of the Board and the Manager being the Chief Executive Officer of the company.  As "tax payer/share holders", citizens are paid dividends in "services" rather than profits from their investment (taxes) in the Town.  In Bluffton, these services range from Police to Planning to trash pickup and recycling. 

The form of government that Bluffton uses combines the best features of our American representative form of government with members of the Mayor and Council being directly elected by the citizenry and the governing body, in turn appoints a professional manager to handle the daily operations of the Town. 

Mr. Barrett has an open door policy for the public.  Should you wish to speak with him by phone or in person do not hesitate to give him a call.