Oconee County budget panel says past budgets hid millions; staff propose fixes as council weighs criminal referral

Mister Jones, the committee’s budget presenter, told the Budget, Finance and Administration Committee on May 18 that a review of county books showed multiple instances where expenses and revenues had been recorded in ways that masked the county’s true fiscal position. "The actuals weren’t actual," Jones said, arguing that prior budgets had understated costs in department lines such as health insurance and had treated some expenditures as revenue.

The presentation listed three glaring examples, Jones said: understated health insurance costs in the sheriff’s office (council had been shown about $1.0–$1.1 million for FY26 while Jones said actual outlays will exceed $2.2 million), a $2.0 million wages/compensation entry the CKH audit treated as revenue and expenditure, and airport jet-fuel projections that showed revenue without the matching fuel-purchase expenditures. "They were cooking the books," a council member said after the presentation, echoing the term Jones used to describe the accounting practices.

Why it matters: Jones said the county has been taking corrective steps, including moving about $18,000,000 from discretionary accounts into the general fund this year and assembling a new designated reserve (the "$2.80" fund) to rebuild the unassigned fund balance. Jones reported the county is starting from an estimated roughly $4,000,000 surplus in the general fund and warned the panel it has about 19 months to shore up finances for bond-rating purposes.

Key figures and risks: Jones said work by staff and auditors reduced a previous $10,000,000 discrepancy to about $750,000 but that the budget still faces hard choices, potentially including consolidation or downsizing. He estimated insurance "runout" costs from moving carriers could range from $1,200,000 to $2,000,000 and said runout payments could extend roughly 18 months. Jones also estimated the county was effectively subsidizing an in-county rock quarry at about $250,000 a year because internal accounting treated quarry materials and transactions as enterprise activity rather than direct county expense.

Council reaction and possible criminal referral: Council members reacted strongly. The chair and others described the prior reporting as fraudulent and questioned whether the conduct could be criminal. Council member Myers (identified in the transcript as a council voice) proposed engaging the Department of Justice to investigate alleged criminality; another member said the transfers and budget amendments appeared to violate county ordinances. Jones and staff said they will provide the finalized budget book to council in time for a second reading scheduled for June 16.

What’s next: Jones said the administration will deliver the completed budget book soon so council can review details before second reading and urged members to identify $750,000–$1,000,000 in savings. Several council members said they would consider a formal motion to request an external criminal review; the transcript records motions to approve minutes and to adjourn but does not include recorded vote tallies in the provided segments.

The committee session included multiple staff identifications (Kevin Robinson, assessor and soon-to-be financial director; references to deputy administrator Phil Shirley; finance staff Amber Turner and Sally Lowry) and staff explanations of accounting practices. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn; the provided transcript ends before a recorded vote tally appears.