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…