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Bert O'Rear at Allendale County's Christmas Cantata in 2022.
Two months after the firing of Allendale County Administrator Bert O’Rear, the Allendale County Council has not yet stated the reason for his termination.
On July 27, The People-Sentinel sent the county a Freedom of Information Act request regarding O’Rear’s termination. The request asked for all documents related to O’Rear’s termination, as well as all communications made between county council members about O’Rear’s performance. On August 14, the county fulfilled The People-Sentinel’s request.
The fulfilled FOIA request given to The People-Sentinel contained only a copy of O’Rear’s termination notice. The termination notice, which was signed by all members of the council, states that O’Rear’s employment as county administrator has been terminated. No rationale for O’Rear’s termination was given, other than to say it was “with cause.”
“We needed to go in another direction with the administration,” Connelly said in an early July interview, following O’Rear’s firing at the end of June. “We did fire him with cause but right now I don’t really want to comment too much on that.”
O’Rear has not responded to The People-Sentinel’s requests for comment.
The county’s FOIA fulfillment letter states that communications between county council members and O’Rear were only made verbally and no documentation of the reason for O’Rear’s termination exists.
Following the council’s FOIA fulfillment, The People-Sentinel spoke to Taylor Smith, a media lawyer at the South Carolina Press Association who represents newspapers like The People-Sentinel.
“It seems there are likely records they possess about his performance that they are not turning over,” Smith wrote in an email. “Particularly if this person served for any extended period of time. … Otherwise, if all communications about the firing were indeed verbal then there are no records for them to produce. This wouldn’t violate SCFOIA but is stupid.”
After O’Rear’s firing, Chanel Lewis, the county’s chief financial officer, was appointed by the county council to become interim county administrator in addition to her duties as the finance director. Lewis previously served as a county administrator in Hampton County from December 2022 to March 2023.
