WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Council held off on hiring a new administrator Monday night as the county continues to grapple with fallout from IRS fines and penalties totaling about $1.4 million, and Interim Administrator Laura Johnson’s unauthorized payment of those penalties without informing council until more than six months later.
The criticism continued Monday night, with some council members voicing further dismay that Johnson never adequately briefed them about the tax payments.
Johnson shot back saying, “It’s a federal law, I had to go ahead and pay them.” She said it was vital to pay the assessments immediately, noting that the IRS could potentially seize county assets over unpaid debts.
She also was evasive, saying she told some council members about the penalties, and that she may not have been clear, but she did not say she told them how much the penalties amounted to. Some council members spoke up to say they knew nothing about the bills.
“I’m going to pay these unless you tell me ‘don’t pay it’ and that it’s on record that you’re telling me not to pay it. That’s all I need to know,” Johnson said, waving a packet of papers in the air.
Some council members said Johnson should have notified council members much sooner. There was no indication from council members or Johnson that council would not have voted to pay the assessments.
A Question of Authority
Councilman Tim Roseborough questioned why Johnson was not forthcoming about the IRS form assessments and payments – after writing the checks without council’s authorization.
“I haven’t heard why council wasn’t notified,” Councilman Tim Roseborough said.
Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen also quizzed Johnson about the matter.
“You paid them [the IRS] in May and then you told us in December about the totals?” Swearingen asked.
Johnson said she has periodically informed council members that she was looking into unpaid IRS bills, but Swearingen told The Voice that Johnson never revealed the magnitude of the bills to her.
In a back-and-forth with Swearingen, Johnson said, “You and I had several conversations about this. I told you I was still investigating. I didn’t want to come to council half-stepping, telling you I had these bills and I had no idea what they pertained to.”
Swearingen repeated her question.
“What the citizens are wanting to know is why didn’t you come to us when you paid it?” she asked. “If it was May or June or whenever you paid it, why didn’t you bring it to us then?”
“I really don’t have an answer for that. I felt like I had to go pay to save the county additional money,” Johnson said.
Pauley Defends Johnson
Council Chairman Doug Pauley defended Johnson’s handling of the assessments and payments. He said no administrator should have to seek council permission to pay the IRS, noting $8,000 in interest that has accrued in the past two weeks.
Councilman Clarence Gilbert also defended Johnson.
“Ms. Johnson should be given an opportunity to address some of the accusations being presented here,” Gilbert said. “I’m just not happy with the accusations and the way things are being presented.”
Despite the large payout Johnson made for the IRS assessments, there is no record that she advised council to initiate a special called meeting to address the issue or to amend the budget for the large payout as required.
Successful Appeals
While both Johnson and the former finance director Anne Bass have said the assessments for the 2017 tax year health forms were successfully appealed, Bass told The Voice earlier that she had also successfully appealed the assessments for the 2018 tax year.
The Voice emailed Johnson asking if the county would be able to recover the money Johnson paid out if the remaining assessments are appealed. Johnson had not responded before press time.
Forensic Audit
At the request of Councilman Dan Ruff, council members also discussed the possibility of conducting a forensic audit to determine exactly how Fairfield’s finances have spiraled out of control.
In addition to the IRS debt, this is the third consecutive year that Fairfield County has been late in submitting its annual audit to the state, resulting in the state withholding state funds from the county last year.
Ruff said the intent of the audit is to ensure transparency in Fairfield’s finances, not to point fingers.
“If there’s nothing there, then there’s nothing there. But there’s so much that appears to be unclear; $1.4 million is a lot of money.”
The implementation of a forensic audit would require a majority vote of council at a later date.
Mounting Public Pressure
Johnson faced additional pressure from the general public Monday night, including another Fairfield County elected leader.
County Treasurer Norma Branham, a former member of county council, called upon council members to give the upcoming administrator search “the attention and close scrutiny it deserves,” suggesting, “The familiar may be easiest, but is not always best,” Branham said.
“I’m concerned with a pattern I have seen in some county leaders who appear to make decisions based on how the outcome will benefit them personally rather than what may be best for the county, its residents, and our shared future,” Branham continued. “To accomplish these outcomes, facts are at times distorted or at times blatantly misrepresented.”
Branham also gave each council member a packet of information prior to the meeting showing that the ending balance of the county’s general fund is down by about $10 million compared to the previous two years: 2023 ($12,856,692.69); 2022 ($22,893.610.54); 2021 ($20,201,858.53).
Brandon Peake was the only speaker to take Johnson’s side Monday night, saying from the podium that, “She came out of retirement to fix this, and stones are being tossed her way.” He waved a handful of documents that he claimed prove the former county finance director had made false statements in regard to the IRS assessments.
District 2 resident Don Goldbach said he was fuming upon learning of the $1.4 million IRS debt during the December 11 meeting.
“I was thinking about all the people saying we need [improved services] in this county. We need EMS support. We need an animal shelter that’s more humane,” Goldboch said. “To think $1.4 million was just thrown away, two weeks before Christmas, I didn’t feel real good.”
District 1 resident Randy Bright also voiced frustration over the unpaid taxes, but also welcomed that council might seek a forensic audit.
“This last year, counting the latest fiasco with the IRS, we’ll probably have budget amendments totaling $5 million,” Bright said. “We didn’t know where we were going last year, and we don’t know where we’re going this year.”
Administrator Vote Delay
Amid the IRS predicament, council members held off on voting to hire a new administrator Monday night, despite interviewing finalists last week.
Johnson, who has served as the Fairfield County Interim Administrator for the last year, is one of three finalist candidates for the job.
The other finalists are Matthew Dewitt and Joseph Hart.
Dewitt was employed by the City of Newberry from 2010 – 2022, serving the last seven years as City Manager and as Assistant City Manager for the four years prior.
Hart served as the Union County Supervisor and Chair of Union County Council for the last seven years.
Resumes of all three candidates are available below.
After a lengthy executive session Monday night, to “receive legal advice and discussion of the employment of a County Administrator,” council members took no action on the administrator search, instead voting on another matter before abruptly adjourning.
Conflict of Interest
Prior to executive session, Swearingen suggested a conflict of interest in the administrator interview process, stating that prior to the interviews, Clerk to Council Kimberly Roberts handed out a list to council of 27 questions from which council members were to choose two each for interviewing candidates.
Additionally, Swearingen stated that Chairman Pauley barred council members from asking Johnson about the IRS debt during her interview. Pauley did not respond to Swearingen’s accusations.
“We are the governing body for Fairfield County. I don’t know where all this is going to stop, but professional leadership with experience is what Fairfield needs,” she said. “The people are demanding it. We as council need to listen to our people.”