City Staff Promotions

17 Apr City Staff Promotions

City of Beaufort announces two promotions to align staff with City Council strategic plan

Beaufort City Manager Bill Prokop announces two promotions on his staff to better align his team with the City Council’s strategic plan.

Effective May 1, Linda Roper will be Director of Downtown Operations and Community Services. She will continue her previous work overseeing the Municipal Court, Park Beaufort parking management, the Waste Pro refuse contract and other community service contracts.

Her new responsibilities include oversight and management of all city-related downtown operations and contracts. She will manage contracts for services, all lease agreements, and all requests for use of city facilities in the downtown core district.

Roper also is the liaison with the Beaufort Digital Corridor, the Don Ryan Center for Innovation and the Cultural Arts Council. She’ll work closely with the chambers of commerce and the Beaufort Redevelopment Commission to promote economic development and growth.

“Linda is dedicated to improving Beaufort, and we look forward to the expertise she will bring to her new responsibilities,” Prokop said. “We are fortunate to have her.”

Roper, a Beaufort native and graduate of Beaufort High, has served the City of Beaufort for 28 years. Starting in accounts payable, she has worked in different departments, giving her a broad view of city operations. She has worked closely with a variety of core downtown issues, including parking, horse carriage tours and tour bus operations.

Neal Pugliese, a recent addition to the city staff as senior project manager, will be the new Director of Public Projects and Facilities / Military Liaison. He will be responsible for all construction and infrastructure projects, including Boundary Street, the Energy Savings Performance Contract with Johnson Controls, Inc, and the day-dock/marina improvements.

Pugliese will also oversee the city’s emergency management efforts, engineering, military relations and public works. Lamar Taylor, Beaufort’s director of public works, will report to him. Pugliese will be responsible for staffing, contracts and the efficient execution of contracts related to infrastructure projects.

“Neal brings to us a wide range of experiences in the Marine Corps, and his organizational skills are exactly what we need to synchronize all projects, of varying sizes, within the City.” Prokop said. “He’ll be working closely with all city departments but especially Planning, Finance, and Human Resources.”

Prior to joining the City of Beaufort in 2016, Pugliese was a career Marine, retiring as a colonel. His background included strategic planning, facilities management and data analysis. His last assignment before retiring was the Director of Operations for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Eastern Recruiting Region, Parris Island.

The promotions are part of a staff realignment that’s needed to accomplish goals of the newly-adopted strategic plan, which is available at www.cityofbeaufort.org under City Hall.

“Our strategic plan has five basic goals for us to accomplish within two years,” Prokop said. “We need to make some alignments to our organizational structure to more effectively achieve our goals, and we will be reporting to Council and the community regularly about our progress.”