Georgetown County welcomes Carla Harvey as Public Services Director

Georgetown County welcomes Carla Harvey as Public Services Director
Georgetown County is excited to welcome Carla Harvey, P.E., as the newest member of its executive team. An experienced engineer and longtime public servant, Harvey joined the staff this week as the new Director of Public Services. She succeeds Ray Funnye, who retired this summer after leading the department for more than three decades. 
Harvey brings to Georgetown County nearly two decades of experience in local government. She most recently served as an engineer for Colleton County, where she worked for nearly a decade. Before that, she spent nine years in Berkeley County managing its Capital Project Sales Tax program. 
A Mount Pleasant native, Harvey received both a bachelor’s degree and master’s in civil engineering from Clemson University. She said she has always been drawn to public service work, and Georgetown County has been on her radar for several years. 
“I’ve always been interested, and the right opportunity finally came along,” she said. “Ray Funnye had reached out to me on several occasions through APWA (American Public Works Association) networking, but the timing was never right. This time it was. I see this as a great opportunity for advancement in my career. Georgetown is growing, and it’s going to be great.” 
In her previous roles, Harvey supported numerous public works initiatives, but she is most proud of projects that delivered immediate and visible improvements for residents. Dirt-to-pavement conversions, she said, remain among her favorite accomplishments. 
“It sounds weird, but I enjoyed dirt road paving the best,” Harvey said. “Taking a two-rut road and giving residents something they’ve never had—less mud, fewer potholes, a real road—there’s so much reward in that. I’m very much instant-gratification driven, and those projects give you that. The same is true for streetscape projects. Taking an ordinary street and making it a destination point is incredibly fulfilling.” 
Harvey also brings experience with capital project sales taxes, something that will be highly relevant as Georgetown County implemented its own voter-approved Capital Project Sales Tax earlier this year and is in the very early stages of beginning those projects. She noted that communities with large visitor populations, like Georgetown County, stand to benefit significantly from this revenue model. 
“All those visitors who use your resources but don’t contribute to the local economy—they help pay for major improvements through a sales tax,” she said. “Your residents will benefit, but the cost burden is shared much more broadly.” 
Harvey said she believes Georgetown County is entering a pivotal chapter, driven by growth from both the Charleston and Horry County regions and by the upcoming redevelopment of the Georgetown waterfront. 
“I feel like Georgetown is in a pressure cooker right now,” she said. “You can see growth coming down from Horry County and up from Charleston. The waterfront redevelopment is going to be a huge asset and could change the face of Georgetown. In the next five years, I think this will truly become a destination point.” 
On a personal level, Harvey is mother to two teenage sons—one a year-round travel baseball player, the other an avid competitive bass fisherman. Most of her free time is spent at ball fields, on lakes or traveling for tournaments. 
“When we’re not at the ball field, we’re on the water,” she said with a laugh. “That’s our life, and this area is perfect for that.” 
Harvey said her first week has been warm and welcoming, and she is excited to get to know the staff and the broader community. 
“I’m a public servant,” she said. “I do what I do because I love working with people and improving the communities I serve. My goal is to make wherever I am better for my family and for everyone who lives here. That’s what drives me.”