WINNSBORO, S.C. — A Midlands county is working overtime to get their audit reports filed after missing the deadline and jeopardizing more than $700,000 in state funding.
South Carolina law requires municipalities and counties to conduct annual audits to ensure the proper reporting, collection and disruption of fines and assessments.
By December 31 every year, counties have to have their audits approved and sent into the South Carolina Comptroller’s office. Fairfield County didn’t get theirs done in time.
Now, over $700,000 in state funding is being withheld from Fairfield County.
Fairfield County deputy administrator Synithia Williams says the county got an extension until January 21, but they missed that deadline, too.
“The county has six-months from the end of the fiscal year to submit it to the comptroller’s office," Williams said. “The comptroller general was sending information to an inactive email address, a former employee that wasn’t here anymore.”
South Carolina Comptroller Richard Eckstrom is withholding, $730,000 from Fairfield County.
“The law is really there to protect those tax payers," Eckstrom said. "I really don’t understand how a county council could let county full-time employees continue in their employment if those full-time county employees can’t keep up with the county funds.”
According to Williams, Fairfield County’s audits are currently being reviewed by an independent audit firm. Once approved, they then have to be submitted to county council for approval. They are aiming to have the audits on the comptroller's desk by the first week of April.
Eckstrom says counties need to start taking their accounting seriously. "They really ought to have their accountants doing their accounting.”
Fairfield County officials say they have implemented new measures to ensure this doesn't happen again. "Trying to put all the procedures in place to make sure we are not in this situation again,” Williams said.
According to the South Carolina Comptroller General's Office, there are 10 other counties across the state that are late submitting their audits. Here in the Midlands, $3.6 million is being withheld from Orangeburg County and more than $655,000 from Calhoun County, both late in submitting their audit reports.
