Town near Columbia will soon lose a longtime leader. Here’s why
Irmo is hunting for a new town administrator after Courtney Dennis turned in his resignation this week.
Dennis has held the town’s top job since 2021, but has worked for two decades for the town, which has about 12,000 residents and sits northwest of Columbia.
”It’s been a great career here,” Dennis told The State. “I love the people, the staff, and the council is fantastic to work for. The private sector just came knocking and presented opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.”
Dennis will step down effective July 3. The administrator told The State he will be staying in the Columbia area to become chief operating officer at a building company.
Dennis started his career with Irmo as a police officer in 2001. He worked his way up to police chief in 2020, steering the police department through the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a year later, he was placed in charge of the town’s entire administrative apparatus.
As administrator, Dennis oversaw the town’s recent re-branding efforts, which produced new signage around the town. The town redeveloped Rawls Creek Park in the Friarsgate neighborhood, including a community garden, skate park and dog park. He also worked on plans for the new Irmo town hall, slated to open in 2026.
Irmo Mayor Bill Danielson praised the work Dennis has done for the town.
“He’s had an exemplary career as a great officer, a great chief, and an even better town administrator,” Danielson said. “He’s been a career town guy. He’s lived and worked here more than half his life. He’s going to be missed.”
Danielson said the town will move at “warp speed” to find a new administrator, although no time table for the search has been laid out yet. Dennis said he hopes to train his replacement if someone is found to fill the job before his July departure date.
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