By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com
The North Carolina State Auditor’s Office sent an engagement letter to Lee County Government earlier in June, The Rant has learned.
An engagement letter typically marks the formal start of an auditor’s work with a government entity and outlines the scope and purpose of the review. It does not contain findings.
Both Lee County Government and the auditor’s office declined to release the letter in response to a request for public records, citing “work paper” confidentiality under state law. But Randy Brechbiel, communications director for North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek, confirmed Friday the office has “engaged” with Lee County. He didn’t disclose what the auditor’s office was looking into.
The Rant submitted a public records request on June 9 seeking communications between Boliek’s office and Lee County Government, including any letters or emails describing an inquiry by the auditor’s office and the reasons for and duration of any such review.
Deputy Lee County Attorney Elizabeth Boone responded on June 22, saying the county was following legal guidance from the auditor’s office which indicated that the requested records were “not releasable at this time.” County Attorney Whitney Parrish said Friday The Rant’s records request was “not closed,” meaning it could possibly fulfilled in the future. Brechbiel said the auditor’s office provided legal guidance on the matter but did not direct the county to withhold the record.
Under North Carolina law, “work papers” related to audits are generally exempt from disclosure until audits are complete and released. The exemption is typically understood to apply to materials created or compiled in the course of an audit, such as draft findings, interview summaries, internal memos, and supporting documentation.
It’s less clear whether general correspondence between government agencies falls within that exemption. Public records law in North Carolina generally requires that non-exempt portions of records be released if possible.
The possibility of state scrutiny has surfaced publicly in recent weeks. At a June 1 meeting of the Lee County Board of Commissioners, Lee County Republican Party Chairman Jim Womack said the State Auditor should look into Lee County Government following a breakdown in contract negotiations with emergency medical services provider MedEx.
“I think we need to get the state auditor down here and sort out how the process got screwed up,” Womack said.
I hope it’s looking in on the unlawful and crooked behind close doors deal made with commissioners and Sanford Growth Alliance on the data centers on Lower Moncure Rd.
RE: Public records request. The County maintains a combined general account of closed sessions reflected within the closed session minutes. Very annoying, in regards to the closed session meeting that was had on March 16th. Without the general account, how can the public even know that the closed session was called for a legitimate reason and things outside of the scope weren’t discussed?