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Interim finance director details ledger anomalies; supervisors prepare forensic audit negotiations
Summary
Interim finance director Kim Goodwin reported misposted general ledger entries, unauthorized budget amendments, and uncontrolled p‑card access; the board approved pursuing a forensic audit and directed staff to discuss a leading candidate in closed session for negotiating position.
Kim Goodwin, the interim finance director, briefed the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on preliminary findings that prompted the county’s planned forensic audit. Goodwin said she observed unexplained general ledger postings, budget amendments processed without legal authority, redacted supporting documentation, and p‑card transactions used without proper internal controls or training.
She told the board the finance office has completed interviews with five firms and that staff has a leading candidate; she asked for direction to prepare a negotiating posture that will be discussed in closed session. “There are significant misappropriations of the budget transfers and amendments,” Goodwin said, and described gaps in segregation of duties that the county’s new ERP system (OpenGov) is intended to remedy. (Kim Goodwin, interim finance director)
Supervisor Bates and other supervisors expressed tension over whether the audit’s purpose is to identify procedural deficiencies or to pursue allegations against specific former leaders. Bates said he supports identifying procedural fixes but opposed a prosecutorial “witch hunt.” The exchange grew heated when another supervisor characterized Bates’s comments as support for corruption; moderators asked members to maintain decorum.
The board did not take a public vote on personnel actions in this session but authorized staff to continue the forensic audit procurement process and to brief the board in closed session on negotiation strategy and candidate selection. The board also notified the Auditor of Public Accounts per Goodwin’s statement. (Next steps: closed‑session negotiation guidance for staff; final selection and contract to be returned to open session as required by law.)
Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 308; topic finished SEG 388.
