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Audit finds fragmented grants management, commingled finances and transactional anomalies at Suwannee County EOC
Summary
Cherry Beckert’s phase‑1 audits of Suwannee County’s emergency management and related sheriff’s office finances flagged missing written policies, potential commingling of credit‑card use, vendors lacking registration, and several transactions recommended for deeper forensic testing.
An independent firm commissioned by the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners found governance gaps and transactional anomalies in emergency management grant administration and some overlapping sheriff’s‑office financial activity.
Cherry Beckert presented two separate reviews: a grants‑management analysis and a forensic review of EOC and sheriff’s office expenditures covering Aug. 15, 2023, through April 30, 2025. Tiffany McCoy, the forensic manager, said the team examined almost 12,000 transactions totaling about $11.5 million.
On grants, auditor Kathleen Kizier described two FEMA hazard‑mitigation pots that were discussed in the audit: about $13 million for Idalia and roughly $25 million for Debbie and Helene combined. She said two Idalia projects totaling about $6.2 million had been applied for and subsequently withdrawn after requests for information (RFIs) that the EOC could not satisfy in time, and that another portion of the Idalia‑designated funding remains un‑obligated. She cautioned that how to count “loss” depends…
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