Warren County will pay $90,000 to ‘outside consultant’ in audit of EDA finances

After a one-hour closed meeting convened at 10 a.m. Friday morning, December 21, the Warren County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize a $90,000 expenditure to pay for three months of work by an outside consultant working on the audit of town-county Economic Development Authority.

The money will come from the County’s Contingency Fund in its current fiscal year budget. Board Vice-Chairman Dan Murray explained the EDA does not have adequate funds in its operating budget to cover the expense. Murray added that due to the county government’s larger annual budget ($107.8 million FY19) its contingency fund for unexpected expenditures is significantly larger than the EDA’s contingency fund.

A Contingency Fund of $136,299 was approved in the County’s FY 2019 budget.

Friday’s closed meeting was attended by the full board of supervisors, County Administrator Doug Stanley, County and EDA Attorney Dan Whitten and EDA Board Chairman Gray Blanton and Treasurer Tom Patteson.

The open session motion to approve the funding was made by Murray, seconded by Tom Sayre.

Following adjournment of the special meeting shortly after 11 a.m. the board of supervisors released a brief statement regarding the funding authorization:

“In order to proceed to complete the audit of the EDA, the outside consultant has requested to be paid for their services over the past three months. Due to the uncertainty still of the various EDA accounts and loans, the Board of Supervisors is stepping up to provide $90,000 at this time. We are hopeful that the consultant can wrap up the audit process in the next month which will include specifically what is owed to the Town and County.”

Following the meeting Attorney Whitten explained that the “outside consultant for financial services” is a separate entity from the auditor or the EDA’s new accounting firm. He also explained that the name of that outside consultant remains protected under attorney-client privilege until completion of the audit report.

“Basically it’s an outside eye coming in outside of your normal accountant and normal auditor … They do fact-finding, intrinsic review – that type of thing. It’s just basically they’re looking for indicia of any improper activities,” Whitten said.

Whitten also said he,  Board Chairman Blanton and Treasurer Patteson would participate in a closed meeting conference call with the new EDA accounting firm Hottel & Willis Friday afternoon to discuss the parameters of their work. Hottel & Willis was hired following the announced retirement of former EDA bookkeeper Josie Rickard earlier this year.