By Scott Miller
smiller@scbiznews.com
Published April 16, 2010

Greenville City Manager Jim Bourey is departing after six years on the job.

The Greenville City Council plans to have a special meeting on Monday to finalize Bourey’s separation agreement. City officials would not discuss the reason for his departure.

Mayor Knox White said Bourey had his support and that the city manager was a “great facilitator of council goals.”

“That said, it’s a tough job with a seven-member board,” White said.

City Council members referred all questions to City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem David Sudduth, who said more details of Bourey’s departure may be shared after his separation agreement is finalized on Monday.

Bourey told City Council at a meeting last Friday that he wanted to tender his resignation, Sudduth said.

“It was not a surprise to me. That’s really all I want to say right now,” Sudduth said. “I don’t want to talk about what happened before that (meeting) or what was discussed at the meeting.”

Before joining the city of Greenville, Bourey served as chief administrative officer in El Dorado County, Calif. Before that, he was executive director of the Maricopa Association of Governments in Phoenix, Ariz., director of planning in Seattle, Wash., and county administrator in Hennepin County, Minn.

In his six years here, Greenville transformed its downtown with the construction of Falls Park, Fluor Field and RiverPlace, as well as the development of Verdae and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research on the city’s I-85 corridor.

Developer Bo Aughtry credited Bourey with facilitating those developments and attracting private investment to the city. He said there is concern that Bourey’s departure could “create fracture and disrupt momentum” of economic development in the city.

“There’s a lot going on right now behind the scenes that Bourey is a part of. That’s why I think it’s important for the city to reach out and keep him on board to avoid an interim situation,” said Aughtry, who is developing Main at Broad next to City Hall downtown.

“An interim city manager, no matter how good they are, can’t feel as empowered to make important decisions, to guide significant projects.”

It’s uncertain how long Bourey will remain on the job. He was unavailable.

Sudduth said that is still being discussed and will be included in Bourey’s separation agreement.

“I do not anticipate his resignation being immediate,” Sudduth said.