Vaughn Column: The cat is out of the bag, Hampton County

I was on the edge of my seat when that big cat jumped out of the bag at the County Council meeting on Jan. 10. There it was, out in the open for all to see and hear and it was extremely large. It took a long time for that cat to come out of that bag but it finally did after six months. 

The cat I speak of is the admission by the county Finance Director and the county auditors that restricted Capital Projects Sales Tax (CPST) ordinance money is missing. Recreation Now has been chasing that big cat since July. The amount — $3,068,972 — had been spent on county expenses outside of the approved 2012 CPST guidelines and in violation of state law. 

Recreation Now had said early on that there should be over $4 million in the restricted CPST account, and when you add the missing $3,068,792 to the current restricted fund balance, that totals over $4 million in the CPST restricted fund to the best of our knowledge, and our knowledge is depending on the figures County Council is serving up. You may choose not to dine on that cuisine until there is a forensic audit. Until there is a forensic audit by an independent auditor, Hampton County citizens can only wonder about fiscal accountability. There is also a question concerning the expenditure of $600,152.98 from CPST funds in addition to the $3,068,792.

At the Jan. 10 County Council meeting, Finance Director Chanel Lewis presented her PowerPoint slide show with minuscule characters that nobody could see as she explained the missing funds.  One slide was legible as it said the primary goal is transparency. I wonder why it has taken six months to decide to be transparent. We called attention to the missing restricted funds in July. 

Council will maintain the funds aren’t missing, but I contend that if Council has an extra $3 million lying around they can plug into that restricted CPST account deficit, then sure, nothing is missing. Until they restore every penny to a fund intended to build children and citizens a recreation complex, I contend the money is missing and Council has admitted restricted CPST money was spent inappropriately. I also contend if Recreation Now had never raised the issue, that $3 million-plus in inappropriate spending would never have been highlighted. Apparently, the auditors never pressed the issue other than including the fact in the audit. The auditors only brought it to light after Recreation Now wrote them a letter asking specific questions. 

We as citizens are left to wonder if other financial guidelines have not been followed. We know the same auditors have been auditing the books for several years and this inappropriate spending has been going on since 2013-2014.

Probably equally disconcerting is the fact that after Ms. Lewis finished her presentation Councilman Clay Bishop applauded her diligence in finding the errors. His concern at that point was whether or not any departments are currently over budget rather than “how are we going to fix this mess”? This fiscal ineptness has been going on for quite a while under the direction of the Administrator. The Administrator is ultimately responsible for fiscal operations. The Finance Director reports directly to the Administrator and the majority of these financial transgressions occurred under the current Administrator. We note the CPST deficit grew materially large beginning in fiscal 2016/2017.

Until that $3,068,792 is back where it belongs, there is certainly nothing to applaud. The real anticipation now is exactly where that $3 million in CPST restricted money was spent. Hampton County citizens deserve a listing of every penny spent improperly in this fiasco. The Administrator has stated on numerous occasions there is no money in the CPTS restricted account to build a recreation complex. That is concerning as there should have been over $4 million on hand to build a complex. The Administrator told a group on June 13, 2018, that there was only $400,000 left in the CPST account. The Finance Director stated that at the end of June 2018, which was only 17 days later, the balance in the CPST account should have been $4,418,519. The difference between those two figures is having a recreation complex and not having a recreation complex. 

The Finance Director stated the current CPST balance is more than $1,000,000 cash and the $3,068,792 account receivable noted above should bring the total to over $4 million. The county has two people responsible for managing county finances and advising the Council on their use. Neither individual threw up red flags, sounded alarms, or in any way indicated a problem with the way CPST restricted funds were being spent. Violating state statutes is alarming and the red flags should be raised by the citizens of Hampton County.

Spending the money for items outside of the CPST boundaries is a great way not to have enough to do what the voters have compelled Council to do. Ms. Lewis also indicated there were loans from the CPST restricted account as early as the fiscal year 2013-2014. She also indicated as early as 2017, the CPST restricted account was due $2.6 million from the general fund.

Why is it that politicians as a general rule have such short memories? Just a few minutes after Council learns that $3,068,792 and possibly more is missing from the CPST restricted funds and they need to replace it, Council members Phillips, Bishop, and Hollingsworth vote to spend $77,865 on a fence for the airport. Kudos to Council members Alexander and Williams for opposing that expenditure. Perhaps the affirmative group figures the airport will bring in that $3 million and we can then move on to doing something productive for our kids. I’m not sure where the $77,865 will be paid from. Will the current balance in the CPST restricted account of over $1,000,000 be used to pay the cost of the fence?

At the recreation input meeting at Fennell Elementary on Jan. 8, I heard a discussion about whether or not the 2012 referendum is still valid and if it should be modified. I can assure you the 2012 referendum is still valid and any deviation from what the people approved at that time will be met with strong resistance. 

What we need are strong backbones that will stand up and deliver what the people asked for so long ago in approving a referendum to build a recreation complex. Why don’t we understand the health and wellbeing benefits a strong recreation program will bring this community? When are we going to demand elected officials follow the will of the people and uphold the ordinance? 

It appears that until we have some new faces in elected and appointed positions, that won’t happen. It will never happen until we, the people, stand for what is right. We need to square our shoulders and shout that enough is enough. Find that misspent money and build that recreation complex now. Enough dilly-dallying around or that cat will slip right back into that bag if you aren't careful.