PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MISSING FROM SUMMERVILLE BALLFIELDS

The Post and Courier has reported:

Tens of thousands of dollars from the Gahagan sports complex were handled in a manner so "loosey-goosey," in the words of one Town Council member, that council has called for a forensic audit.

And a related Dorchester County Sheriff's Office embezzlement investigation continues after the late February arrest of a former town employee, according to town officials and deputies.

Council discussed the handling of the funds in a closed-door session March 9. It approved the audit afterward.

The request for a forensic audit, an exhaustive financial audit similar to a criminal investigation, follows a partial audit performed as part of an investigation dating to May 2010.

"The total amount of missing funds was estimated between $70,000 and $111,000 during a Jan. 26 meeting with Martha Bryan, CPA, of Webster Rogers LLC," according to a sheriff's incident report.

But "due to a lack of monetary controls, checks and balances, and not following policy and procedures ... the amount recoverable will only be the $4,200 (the employee charged) admitted to taking," the report said.

The missing funds in the report are an estimate based on money collected at events for which the town has receipts. Town officials said the total money actually missing is probably far less than the sheriff's report indicated, because for some sports events the gate receipts were split with the group holding the event.

Councilman Ricky Waring called the money handling a "passed-down process," and said the procedures did not keep pace with the revenue growth of the Recreation Department after the popular Gahagan Plantation Community Park opened.

An audit Bryan did as part of the investigation could not come up with records for ticket sales at 19 of 62 Gahagan sports events from 2007-10. When cash was moved from the ballfield, signed and dated receipts were not filled out, and there were no regular reviews of those receipts, ticket document purchases or sales, the audit said.

"We were unable to determine an amount of monies that should have been deposited from the sale of tickets because of a lack of documentation," the audit said. "At Town Hall, the monies were often left on a desk, and personnel not responsible for the cash had access to it," the audit said.

The worker, Jeffery Allen Rabun, 51, of Ladson was charged with embezzlement of public funds less than $5,000, according to the Sheriff's Office, after council requested the investigation. Rabun was allowed to resign rather than be fired before he surrendered to sheriff's deputies in February.

This looks like "Deja Vu all over again." But, amazingly, Councilman Ricky Waring, who has been on council for over ten years blames the situation on a "passed-down process." And former Solicitor Walter Bailey who was elected to council on a platform of fiscal accountability and promises to keep better track of the taxpayer's money does not have much to say. But, again, Mr. Bailey he was Solicitor for much of the period when former Sheriff Ray Nash and his deputies were robbing Dorchester County blind, but did nothing to stop it.