Beaufort’s No. 2 Reece Bertholf served 24 years. Here’s why he’s leaving the Lowcountry

Karl Puckett
·2 min read

Beaufort Deputy City Manager Reece Bertholf — a former fire chief and finalist for Beaufort’s city manager job five months ago — is leaving the Lowcountry for a job in Minnesota, the state where he grew up.

The City of New Hope, Minnesota, announced that it has hired Bertholf to become its next city manager. The City Council unanimously OK’d the contract Monday.

New Hope is a Minneapolis suburb with a population of about 22,000. Bertholf is expected to begin the job June 12.

Bertholf is the second high-level city official to announce their departure within the past week. Bill Harvey, the city attorney for 36 years, said Friday he was leaving to focus on his private practice.

While the city will begin a search for Harvey’s replacement, City Manager Scott Marshall said Tuesday that the search for a new deputy city manager is pending an evaluation of staffing needs.

Bertholf, who joined the city as a firefighter 24 years ago, rose through the ranks, becoming fire chief in 2015 and deputy city city manager in 2021.

In November, he was one of three finalists for the city’s top post, city manager, after Bill Prokop announced his retirement in September. But the city hired Marshall, Beaufort County’s human resources director, for that job.

Bertholf will replace New Hope City Manager Kirk McDonald, who retired last June. New Hope Police Chief Tim Hoyt has served as acting city manager since McDonald’s retirement.

Bertholf, 44, has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina Beaufort, an MBA from The Citadel and an executive certificate in public leadership from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

He began his career with the city of Beaufort as a volunteer with the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department in 2000 after serving four years in the Marines.

“It’s been a tremendous environment to work in,” Bertholf told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet.

The people he interacted with in Beaufort over 23 years, Bertholf said, left the largest impression on him.

Besides his job with the city, Bertholf is chairman of the Riverview Charter School and the Child Abuse Prevention Association.

“I am truly humbled by the opportunities afforded to me by our community but it is with a full and grateful heart, that I simply say — thank you,” Bertholf said.