North Myrtle Beach city council removes city manager Mike Mahaney. What we know
.jpg "Mike Mahaney spoke to media members and members of the public at North Myrtle Beach City Hall on Sept. 19, 2024.")
A special meeting called by the North Myrtle Beach City Council 24 hours in advance decided the fate of Mike Mahaney’s role as their city manager.
A reason was provided by the council.
“City Manager Mike Mahaney did not pursue the hiring of a Grants Coordinator despite being urged to do so by multiple members of City Council on or about February 21, 2024, and February 22, 2024,” the notice of removal approved by council said.
Mahaney received five votes in favor of removing him from his current position and placing him on administrative leave from Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Mayor Pro Tem JO Baldwin, Clarence ‘Bubba’ Collins, Ray ‘Trey’ Skidmore, Harry ‘Hank’ Thomas and two no votes from Nicole ‘Nikki’ Fontana and Jon ‘Fred’ Coyne.
The meeting began with an Executive Session with council to discuss the §5-13-70 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, according to agenda documents.
While the council went into closed session at the beginning of the meeting, Mahaney held an impromptu presentation for the media and members of the public and handed out documents that include his resume and printed out slides from a recent presentation he gave until it was interrupted at 1:43 p.m. with North Myrtle Beach City Attorney Chris Noury returning to the room asking to speak with Mahaney.
The written reason for Mahaney’s removal is because he did not hire a grants coordinator last February despite being urged to do so, according to Noury.
Mahaney left briefly before returning to inform the gathered members that the city attorney had asked him not to speak to the media and public until after the meeting to avoid any potential controversy.
“I don’t want to offend anybody,” he said as he walked out of the council room.
On the last page of his resume addressed to the City of Fernandina Beach in Florida, where he’s applied for a city manager job, he wrote, “I do not think any community activists will contact Fernandina Beach with ‘the dirt’ on me.”
After council members came out of the session, they voted on the first agenda items and decided to place Mahaney on paid administrative leave. A second vote was taken to immediately move Assistant City Manager Ryan Fabbri to acting city manager.
Fabbri and North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley did not respond to repeated requests for comment in the hours leading up to the meeting.
Mahaney had originally scheduled a conversation at 1 p.m. prior to the scheduled council called meeting, but canceled it moments before after reporters had already arrived.
He had previously worked as the North Myrtle Beach City Manager for 14 years after he was unanimously selected by council for the position in 2010.
His current salary was listed as $253,000 annually, according to North Myrtle Beach public records. His resume said he also had a $1,000 a month allowance as part of his job.
Previous reporting shows that Mahaney’s career with North Myrtle Beach has been mired in high-profile controversies over the past five years.
They include an investigation over alleged assault, wearing a police-issued body camera to a groundbreaking ceremony and the refusal to release his personnel file to local media.
The next step after this meeting includes a potential search for a new permanent city manager. State law dictates that Mahaney has the right to request a public hearing within five days of receiving the written notice of his removal.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 2:18 PM.
