Public safety director urges assessment to define service baseline; committee presses for careful RFP, community engagement and interim MOU with incoming sherif

Public Safety Director Bob Bromwich outlined a planned law‑enforcement service delivery assessment the town would procure via RFP to establish an objective service baseline and compare alternatives for delivering law enforcement on Hilton Head Island.

“This is not a recommendation to create a municipal police department, nor is it a conclusion that the current law enforcement model we have needs to be replaced,” Bromwich said, stressing that the assessment will define desired outcomes (response, visibility, patrol, traffic enforcement, community engagement) and then evaluate how each model meets them. He listed a four‑step process: establish scope and RFP, select a qualified firm, collect data and engage stakeholders, then prepare findings and recommendations for council review.

Committee members broadly supported the assessment but pressed staff for clearer scope language and broader policy involvement. Miss Turner and others asked the town to ensure the RFP scores include a standalone community‑engagement approach, demonstrated public safety analytical capability, and demonstrated financial and organizational modeling. Members also emphasized workforce readiness, implementation timelines for hybrid or municipal models, PUD security differences, and the need to coordinate with Beaufort County — in particular to arrange an interim MOU with the incoming sheriff so the island’s service level is preserved while the study proceeds.

Council members discussed timing concerns: Bromwich said a similar study in 2000 took about five months, but multiple committee members warned the current effort will likely take longer because of stakeholder engagement and data collection. Several members asked that staff bring a critical path showing parallel workstreams (RFP/assessment path and IGA/MOU path) and that Council be involved in RFP scoring and contract selection given the political sensitivity.

No formal vote was taken; the committee directed staff to incorporate the suggested changes, return a revised RFP draft for committee review and proceed with outreach to the new sheriff’s office on an interim agreement.