Steve Riley, Principal

I enjoyed a long career engaged in public service, working at the county and municipal level in planning, community development, and local government management.  I also spent time in the private sector in the areas of land use planning, commercial real estate, and appraisal.  For over 26 years I served as the Town Manager for the Town of Hilton Head Island, SC., a dynamic community where I worked with seven different Mayors and some 30 different Council members. Throughout my career I was very involved in giving back to the community and my profession.

Hilton Head is a coastal barrier island incorporated in the early 1980s that brought together 10 large Planned Developments as well as a variety of historic neighborhoods and scattered commercial centers.  The push for incorporation was driven by a desire for strengthening growth management efforts as well as a desire for enhanced public services and infrastructure investments.  There was also a need to create a sense of community across the historic neighborhoods and the new planned developments.

I came to work for the Town in 1991 as the Community Development Director, and focused on community building – including an aggressive land acquisition program, capital investment, disaster planning, and fiscal management.  I was named the Town Manager in 1994 and retired in 2020.  During that time the Town achieved a AAA bond rating from Moody’s, annually received the GFOA CAFR and Budget Presentation Awards, had an extensive and award-winning capital improvements program, won numerous awards and recognition for those capital projects, as well as recognition as a place for visitors, retirees, and families.  The Town successfully managed responses to hurricane strikes in 2016 and again in 2017.

I look forward to bringing my extensive experience, innovative spirit, and emphasis on collaborative approaches to your community or organization.