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Resident urges Berkeley County to commission independent forensic audit of finances
Summary
A resident asked the commission during public comment whether Berkeley County has ever obtained an independent third-party or forensic audit beyond the state-required annual audit and urged the county to commission one.
During the public-comment period on March 13, resident Sean Wilt questioned whether Berkeley County has ever commissioned an independent, third-party financial or forensic audit beyond the annual state audit and urged the commission to consider one.
Wilt, a county resident since 1992, asked whether a third-party audit of the county’s books and return on investment for county expenditures — including the county’s $200,000-a-year lobbyist contract — had been performed in the past decade. He said state audits meet statutory requirements but urged a more detailed review to provide taxpayers with a clearer accounting of how local funds are spent.
County staff and commissioners responded that the county undergoes an annual audit required by the State Auditor’s Office and that those audits are performed by an external auditing firm as part of the statutory process. Commissioners acknowledged the public comment and the statutory audit schedule; no action was taken on the request at the meeting.
Next steps: Wilt’s request was recorded in the public record; commissioners did not commit to commissioning an additional forensic audit during the March 13 meeting.
