HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — The Halifax County Board of Supervisors voted to bring back their former finance director, who stepped down over a year ago, to help them deal with what they say is missing paperwork from their financial audit.
After an almost two-hour-long closed session during their Monday evening meeting, the board voted 5-2 to bring back former Finance Director Stephanie Jackson to help them with their financial audit. Vice Chairman Robbie Smart made the motion.
However, the vote came hours after the county leaders voted not to discuss or do anything with the financial audit until their next meeting.
This all started at the beginning of the meeting. According to the agenda, the board was set to discuss “Forensic Audit Support.” Following the start of the meeting, Chairman Larry Roller asked the board whether any amendments were needed to the agenda.
Supervisor W. Bryant Claiborne made a motion to remove any discussion about the audit.
“I have not seen the minutes for the finance meeting that was held on March 25,” Supervisor Claibourne said. “Until we see those, we should move the discussion about the audit to the next meeting.”
After the discussion from the board and Supervisor Keith McDowell’s second, the motion passed. Following that, Supervisor Pette Riddle Junior made a motion to instead have a discussion on the forensic audit. Supervisor McDowell seconded the motion.
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However, Chairman Roller shared that the motion would limit what they could discuss in public. He called for a vote, and the vote failed.
After the board adopted the agenda to not talk about the audit and remove three things from the agenda that were tied to the audit, the board moved to public comment. Three families spoke before the board, demanding answers about the audit.
“Moving on without answers is not leadership – it is sweeping these serious problems under the rug once again,” one public commenter told supervisors.
The board released the audit to the public back in March. Supervisors approved an audit by Premier Group Services, a Maryland-based firm, to review county records from 2021 to 2025. They found major problems with how the county has managed taxpayer money over the past five years.
Premier Group Services described the county’s financial management as “inconsistent, insufficient, and noncompliant.” The audit found the county failed to provide complete documentation in multiple areas, including fund balances, accounts payable, revenue and federal funding, the solar panel project, and the VPSA construction fund.
Another public commenter on Monday night urged transparency, telling the board: “Your oath as public officials binds you to uphold transparency and the management of taxpayer money.”
READ MORE: Residents press Halifax supervisors after forensic audit flags taxpayer money problems
After the public comment and closed session, the board voted to bring back Ms. Jackson to help with the audit. Several on the board claim the missing documents for the “incomplete audit” are in the county administration office, and Ms. Jackson can find them.
ABC13’s Hayden Robertson attempted to speak with board members following the meeting.
“Supervisor, can you say anything at all about this evening?” Robertson asked.
“No, no,” Supervisor Dennis Witt said.
“Supervisor, any comment tonight about what happened at all?” Robertson asked.
“Well. I think I said it all out there,” Supervisor D. Jeffrie Oakes replied.
“Could you repeat it all?” Robertson asked.
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“What we are enduring now is cause and effect,” Supervisor Oakes replied. “We should have done things differently years ago, and we were remiss in doing that, and now we’re suffering the consequences. The forensic audit, in my opinion, was poorly done, and the records exist; it’s a matter of having the right person here to find those records and bring them forth. We’re as transparent as we can be, considering what’s going on, and we’re gonna move past it. We’ll be where we need to be in a few months, probably and hopefully. I’m fighting for the people.”
“Would you like to add anything to that?” Robertson asked.
“No,” Supervisor Monte Thompson said.
“Anything at all?” Robertson asked.
“I really just want to add that my motion had nothing to do with the audit; it had everything to do with the board of supervisors moving forward with our budget,” Vice Chairman Robbie Smart replied. “We need to understand the fund balances so we can close out 2025 and move forward with the next budget. We are weeks away from having to announce tax rates. We can’t do that unless we know what’s available on what we’re gonna spend, and then we can come up with a budget. That’s all this is about. Moving forward.”
“And your motion was to bring back the former finance director,” Robertson replied.
“Not bring her back,” Vice Chairman Smart said. “I understand she’s gainfully employed, but just simply to sit down. We’re asking her, maybe not even interim, just sit beside him (John Montoro), maybe. He has all the keys, not Ms. Jackson, if anybody is worried about that, but simply point him in the right direction and what clicks he needs to make to find the multi-level system to find the mission fund balances and capture those in the appropriate time constraints.”
However, all three public commenters were opposed to the county bringing back Ms. Jackson.
The board will continue its discussion on the audit at its joint meeting on April 21.