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Treasurer Maria Walls urges council to exempt elected offices from new remote‑work rule; council votes to grandfather three virtual employees
Summary
Treasurer Maria Walls told council a court order and ongoing litigation constrain actions affecting her out‑of‑state employees and asked for an exemption; after debate council amended the telecommuting policy to grandfather three current virtual employees and approved the resolution as amended.
Treasurer Maria Walls told Beaufort County Council on Feb. 9 that a December 2024 circuit court order could prohibit county actions that would negatively affect her out‑of‑state employees and asked council to exempt elected offices from the county’s proposed telecommuting policy or to grandfather her three current virtual employees.
"I am Maria Walls. I serve as the Beaufort County Treasurer," she said, and described her office’s use of virtual employees since 2017 and three out‑of‑state employees hired locally who now live elsewhere. Walls said her office handled a sizable share of customer interactions and that any policy change should preserve operations that are already working. She asked council to "amend the proposed telecommuting and disaster pay policy to exempt elected offices, allowing elected officials to approve virtual employees and determine who is essential to our operations," or at minimum to grandfather existing employees.
Council debated the legal and fiscal implications. One member asked staff to estimate litigation costs; another said litigation tied to this matter had exceeded $450,000. Several council members expressed support for the treasurer, citing service and performance; others worried a broad grandfather provision could open the door for additional remote positions across departments.
After questions and discussion, a motion to grandfather the treasurer’s three current virtual employees passed on a roll call and the full resolution (Resolution 2025‑63) was approved as amended to permit only those three specific employees to remain virtual. The council record shows the amendment and final vote passed with a majority of councilmembers voting in favor.
The council’s action is procedural: it amended county personnel policy 3.3 to allow a narrowly defined grandfathering for specific existing employees in an elected office while the county continues to address the underlying litigation and broader remote‑work policy decisions.
The treasurer said she preferred a permanent exemption for elected offices but accepted the grandfathering as a temporary, staff‑coordinated solution; she warned she would defend her office’s staff "tooth and nail" if the county attempted to terminate them while litigation continues.
