Ex-Bluffton, SC, Fire Chief Faces State Ethics Panel Hearing

A former Bluffton fire chief will face a state hearing this spring to determine if he improperly benefited financially from his position and failed to step aside from a promotion decision involving his son.

According to a hearing notice obtained by The Island Packet through a public records request, the South Carolina Ethics Commission found probable cause that former Bluffton Township Fire District Chief Paul Boulware may have violated state ethics laws before his sudden departure from the department last February after 34 years.

The notice says the commission will consider two main issues: whether Boulware knowingly used his position as chief to authorize a nearly $14,000 payout to himself for unused vacation time, and whether he failed to recuse himself from a decision that promoted his son to station captain in 2023.

The hearing is scheduled for April 16 at 9:30 a.m. and will take place at the commission’s hearing room in Columbia. It will be open to the public. How did we get here?

A 38-page complaint filed in April by Beaufort County Attorney Brian Hulbert documents a range of alleged misconduct by Bluffton’s former fire chief.

According to the complaint, the County Administrator’s office began receiving complaints about the chief’s behavior during his brief retirement in January 2025. Under state rules for departments covered by the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority, fire chiefs may retire and return to work after a 30-day break in service if certain conditions are met.

It was during this short retirement period that the allegations about Boulware’s conduct were relayed to county leadership. Those whistleblower complaint allegations included withholding cost of living salary increases for workers, driving a government vehicle while not employed, racism and directing the department to not conduct exit interviews.

The complaints prompted an internal investigation led by the county under Hulbert. During the investigation, he interviewed several department employees and members of the department’s board.

The findings were later referred to the state’s Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Ethics Commission. SLED did not respond to questions about the status of the criminal investigation before publication. What’s in the complaint?

The complaint documents a long list of allegations made against the former fire chief, but the ethics commission has only found reasonable cause to further investigate two of them.

The first is whether Boulware knowingly used his position as chief to authorize a nearly $14,000 payout to himself for unused vacation time. The complaint suggests that because Boulware retired in January 2025, he was not entitled to accrued leave from 2024. Yet he still directed the department’s finance officer to pay him for 176 hours of that leave, totaling $13,810, the complaint said.

The second is whether Boulware failed to recuse himself from a decision that promoted his son to station captain in 2023. The complainants alleged that the department, under Boulware’s leadership, was “fraught with nepotism,” according to the complaint.

Complainants told the county attorney that the chief’s son, Travis, was “quickly promoted” to Lieutenant and even quicker to Station Captain over “more experienced and qualified” firefighters.

Both of those complaints are scheduled to be heard by the commission on April 16. Other allegations against the former fire chief

Around the same time he allegedly was paid for unused vacation time, according to the complainants, the former chief made the decision to withhold employees’ salary inflation adjustments, citing “insufficient funds.” The former chief also allegedly denied another employee’s request for payout of accrued vacation time after securing his payout.

The April hearing will not explicitly address those allegations or others found in the complaint, including that Boulware allegedly used a department vehicle or worked for the department during his temporary retirement, actions that would breach his return conditions.

According to the documents, racial allegations were also made against Boulware, and he allegedly prevented human resources from addressing racism in the department. The hearing documents state that when asked why so many firefighters were quitting under Boulware’s leadership, human resources admitted to creating an untrue explanation instead of addressing “moral issues or racial concerns.”

Boulware was also accused of telling human resources to not offer exit interviews for those leaving.

Assertions were also made that department leadership knew employees were performing maintenance work on personal vehicles owned by friends and family while at the fire station and on department time.

None of those issues, however, will be addressed in the April hearing. What happens next?

During an ethics hearing, a panel of three Commission members act as a jury, weighing all evidence and testimony submitted during the hearing. Their decision will be the final disposition.

If found guilty, Boulware could face public reprimand, be ordered to pay restitution or be fined no more than $2,000.

The Island Packet made several attempts to reach Boulware through phone numbers associated with his name found in public records. Those attempts were unsuccessful.

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