Beaufort County Administrator Michael Moore fired three employees last month for visiting a gun store during work hours.
A July 16 email to all 11 members of the Beaufort County Council claimed that three county employees were observed entering the Palmetto State Armory gun store in the Riverwalk Business Park in Jasper County around 11 a.m. that day. The email also included a photo of a county vehicle, a Ram Dually, parked outside the store. The source of the email was redacted.
Council member Tab Tabernik then forwarded the email to Moore with the comment, “For your information for your next steps.”
Sometime between July 16 and July 24, the three employees, whose names were not released, were fired from their county jobs, a statement confirmed by county spokeswoman Hannah Nichols on July 24. Moore said the three were fired for “misuse of time” and “abuse of resources.”
“These employees were not at their workplace where they were supposed to be,” Moore said Friday morning. “They were not performing their assigned duties.”
“We want the public to have confidence that the county is a good steward of taxpayer dollars. I think that’s the key point here,” he added.
The emails detailing the series of events were obtained through a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request.
Tabernik praised Moore’s handling of the situation.
“(Moore) responded very quickly, investigated the case and did everything that was necessary. In my opinion, that’s what the administrator has to do,” she said.
“He knows what to do. He takes responsibility for the employees and the leadership of the district. That’s my first impression until he proves me wrong,” Tabernik added.
Keeping accountability promises
In an extensive interview with the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette in July, the then-newly installed administrator said it was not out of the question that some positions would open up as he worked to fill vacancies and structure the county administration. Moore said, “I have it in me” when asked if he would lay anyone off at that time.
The emails show that Moore had made good on his word and fired the three employees days before his speech to the newspapers.
