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Hope Mills leaders defend emergency spending after state audit flags financial controls
Summary
The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners and town manager responded to a 66-page Office of the State Auditor investigative report, defending emergency safety spending for schools and infrastructure while pledging corrective actions to strengthen internal controls. Residents expressed anger at the findings and called for accountability.
The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners addressed fallout from a 66-page investigative report by the Office of the State Auditor during its May 4 meeting, with elected officials and the town manager defending urgent public-safety spending and promising changes to procedures flagged by auditors.
Mayor Jesse Bellflowers told residents the most serious expenditures were tied to school safety and police operations. "We took on that mission to provide safety for our schools," Bellflowers said, describing startup costs for a school resource officer program, vehicle purchases and a police data server as the principal drivers of a roughly $1.2 million draw on reserves. He said some spending "was not in the budget because we didn't know we were going to do it," and called the purchases necessary to provide safety on a short timetable.
Town Manager (title in transcript) defended personnel and operational decisions and said the town is taking corrective steps. The manager described a regional pay study that remains largely unfunded and announced a procedural change: the manager will no longer be allowed to grant staff pay increases unilaterally. "We're putting controls in place to respond to the audit," the manager said, and reported that many corrective actions are underway or complete.
Residents reacted strongly during public comments. Norah Armstrong, a local resident, said she was "disappointed but not surprised" by the audit and urged board members to accept responsibility. "This orphan needs to be adopted by somebody in this room," she said, referencing the audit's findings.
Several commissioners backed the mayor and manager while acknowledging the audit's substance. Commissioner Marley said the board had been "in a rock and a hard place" and defended decisions taken to protect the community; other commissioners emphasized the need to update policies and improve oversight.
The audit reported multiple allegations; according to the mayor's summary in the meeting, two were substantiated, three partially substantiated and 18 unsubstantiated. The board committed to completing corrective actions and stated a willingness to work with the Office of the State Auditor and other oversight bodies. The mayor also said he and some commissioners will personally cover travel costs for an upcoming conference rather than charge town funds, as one example of the board's pledge to tighten spending.
Next steps announced by officials included continued implementation of audit corrective actions, public budget workshops to walk through priorities and potential adjustments, and further discussion of personnel policies. The board scheduled a series of budget workshops to begin May 11 and May 18 and said it would complete a full review of the audit findings in public sessions.
