Government

The Town of Bluffton was established in 1825, incorporated in 1852, and adopted a Council-Manager form of government in 1999. The Council-Manager form of government consists of an elected Town Council, which is responsible for policymaking, and a professional Town Manager, appointed by the Council, who is responsible for administration.

Town Manager

The Town Manager provides policy advice, directs the daily operations of the Town government, handles personnel functions, and is responsible for preparing the budget.

Town Council

Town Council is comprised of a mayor and four council members who serve overlapping four-year terms. Town Council members serve at large, which enables all voters the opportunity to vote on a candidate for each seat. Town elections occur every two years.

Employees

There are over 150 employees who work for the Town of Bluffton, providing a wide range of services. There are eleven principal functional areas of the Town, which are designed to provide governmental services efficiently and effectively while promoting quality customer service:

• Communications and Community Outreach
• Don Ryan Center of Innovation
• Executive
• Finance/Administration
• Growth Management
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Municipal Court
• Police
• Projects & Watershed Resilience
• Public Services