Petition granted to commence forensic audit of Charles City County finances

An order for a forensic audit filed by citizens of Charles City County has been put in motion.

Charles City County Circuit Court issued an order on June 20, ordering Charles City County’s Board of Supervisors to conduct a forensic audit of county finances. A forensic audit is a detailed examination of financial records to uncover fraud, misconduct, or other irregularities.

At the end of 2024, several citizens of Charles City were upset that information about the county’s finances weren’t available as they were to be filed by law prior to the end of the year. At January and February board meetings, citizens requested information about county finances and the results of the audit, which Charles City leaders commented that they did not have at the time. Citizens began requesting the county for a forensic audit, which the county believed they did not have to do. At that time, citizens begin signing a petition for the audit, with former Charles City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler questioning the reason for a $5 million loan to pay bills and the reason why an audit hadn’t been completed. On Feb. 7, the petition was filed in court by Charles City Circuit Court.

In a May 1 special meeting, Charles City supervisors received information stemming from an audit conducted by Robinson, Farmer, and Cox. During the audit, it was determined that the county suffered from problems with internal controls. The first issue stemmed from journal entries that provided a financial snapshot of county departments. The second issue was an error where bank reconciliation reported information that was posted incorrectly.

But county leaders came under scrutiny when more than $300,000 could not be identified through the audit. The county also overspent by $6 million, resulting in the rainy-day fund being depleted. In turn, a $5.2 million Revenue Anticipation Note (RAN) was approved to be taken out by county leaders to ensure county operations.

Several county citizens continued to question actions of county leaders, including the severance payout to former county administrator Michelle Johnson, negotiations with individual businesses which many have accused the government as “under-the-table” deals, and not listening to county citizens pleas when it comes to the development of a data center in the county.

At the June 24 meeting, Charles City Board of Supervisors Chairman Byron Adkins Sr. directed newly appointed County Administrator Keith Rogers Jr. to work with the county attorney in providing documents requested by the court system.

The cost of a forensic audit has been capped at $75,000.