Halifax County supervisors approve limited return of former employee Stephanie Jackson to aid finance staff after heated debate

The Halifax County Board of Supervisors voted 5–3 to allow former county employee Stephanie Jackson to assist the interim finance director in reconciling fund balances and preparing the FY27 budget, with limitations on her access to financial systems.

The motion, which delegated board approval to give Mr. Brady authority to arrange supervised assistance from Jackson, passed after extended debate over a prior forensic audit, missing records and whether the topic had been tabled for a later meeting. The board recorded a 5–3 roll-call vote; Supervisor Riddell voted no and Chair Roller voted yes.

Board members who opposed the motion said the discussion improperly reopened matters connected to a forensic audit that the board had agreed to table. One speaker argued the audit report implied that a single person had controlled county finances and told the board that ‘‘85% of the requested information necessary for the due diligence were missing.’’ That speaker also noted the county has purchased the MUNIS financial management system and questioned why it had not been used to maintain records, saying the county had spent ‘‘$2.5 million’’ on the system over 19 years.

Supporters of the motion said the action was limited to moving the budget process forward and was not a reopening of the forensic audit. ‘‘The forensic audit was about our procedures and about documents that I don't think were looked for properly. It was never about Stephanie Jackson. She's not on trial here. Nobody's accused her of doing anything,’’ said a supervisor who defended long-serving county staff and emphasized that hard-copy files and records remain in county offices.

Speakers on both sides framed their remarks around two separate needs: completing the annual 2025 audit and reconciling current fund balances so the county can produce an FY27 budget, and investigating broader historic issues raised by the forensic audit. Several supervisors said they were concerned about transparency and pledged further oversight; others said the immediate need is staffing and access to institutional knowledge to complete reconciliations.

The motion included explicit restrictions: Jackson would not be given unfettered access to MUNIS or other financial systems, and her work was to be supervised by Interim Finance Director Mr. Montano. The board characterized the authorization as temporary and limited to assisting with locating historical data and reconciling fund balances so the fiscal year-end and budget process could move forward.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to re-open in open session: approved (board announced unanimous agreement; roll call recorded 7–0). - Resolution certifying closed session: adopted by roll call, 7–0. - MOU authorizing the Sheriff’s Department to perform animal-control enforcement duties: approved (five yes votes, two abstentions). - Agreement/retainer with Davenport & Company LLC for financial advisory services: approved (motion carried). - Motion authorizing supervised assistance from Stephanie Jackson to assist finance staff: approved 5–3 (roll-call recorded; Riddell voted no).

Why this matters

Board members said reconciling fund balances and closing out FY25 are prerequisites to producing an accurate FY27 budget. At the same time, the hearing exposed lingering disagreements about the scope and handling of a forensic audit and raised questions about records management and staffing capacity in Halifax County’s finance offices.

What’s next

The board scheduled a joint meeting with the Planning Commission for April 21, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. Members said they expect continued oversight of the finance reconciliation work and additional discussion of audit-related issues at future meetings.