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II
FIRED-
Continued from Front
until a county manager replace-
ment can be hired. In the mean-
time, Tapley said citizens who
need the help of a county manager
are asked to call the county's main
office, and they will be directed to
blamed the 2016 errors on the
county's new financial software.
Tapley said a software glitch did
not cause the latest underpay-
ments.
District 1 commissioner Larry
Evans was particularly troubled
by the matter, saying he gave strict
instructions to Buice and Wooley
after investigating last year's IRS
December 2012).
' shley was not sufficient as
finance director, and I've been try-
ing to tell this board that for a very
long timd' Buice said.
Commissioners interviewed"
three candidates for finance direc-
tor in March and later offered one
of them the job, but the candidate
turned the county down. Com-
a county commissioner who can mishap for the two to produce missioners have subsequently
assist them. paper printouts of payroll tax pay- re-advertised the position. Despite
Tapley, who has served as chair- ments, which are paid electroni- this, Evans blamed Buice for the
man for nearly a year-and-a-half, cally, going forward. When Evans personnel shortage, noting that it
said of Buice's demotion, "This is
the toughest dedsion I've had to
make since I've been herd'
Tapley also said the county
intends to contract out the vacant
county manager and finance
director positions with private
companies in the interim.
During Monday's meet-
ing, commissioners expressed
displeasure with Buice for failing
to provide adequate oversight of
Wooley given that the county paid
out more than $150,000 in penal-
ties for underpaying payroll taxes
for fiscal year 2016. Buice said the
most recent errors, which were
believed to have occurred in 2017
and 2018, could result in $57,000
in penalties. Buice and Wooley
asked Buice ffshe had viewed any
paper printouts since last August
when Evans publicly recom-
mended it, she said she had not
until three weeks ago when she
asked Wooley to provide them
and Wooley failed to do so.
Buice then blamed the short-
age of personnel in the finance
department, which for more than
a year has been Wooley alone,
as a major cause of the contin-
ued mistakes. Buice said she has
been telling commissioners for
more than a year that the counfy
needed a new finance officer with
Wooley sliding back into an as-
sistant role (Wooley has served as
the interim finance officer since
was Buice's decision in 2017 not
to replace former finance assistant
Brandi McPipkin, who was shift-
ed to the purchasing department,
with another finance assistant.
With commissioners' approval,
Buice instead re-assigned recre-
ation assistant Suzanne Schultek
to the administrative office, saying
there were other needs than
finance at the time.
"I don't make those changes.
This board niakes those changes;
Buice said in an agitated tone. "I
made a recommendation, and this
board accepted it."
Buice said she expected that
Wooley could handle paying the
payroll taxes and admitted she
4
was lax in her approach to finan-
cial matters.
"That's my failure was trusting"
However, Evans said Buice's
assignment of blame to Wooley
wasn't sufficient for him.
Evans said, "You don't take any-
body's word about no money:'
At one point Buice urged com-
missioners to move forward, not-
ing that Forsyth-based accounting
firm Hopkins & Associates would
be assisting with the finance
department in Wooley's absence.
However, she also noted the need
for two employees in finance
looking ahead.
Buice said, "We can spend a lot
of time go'rag over what hap-
pened, but time is of the essence
to move forward into getting this
straight:'
Some commissioners weren't
in the mood to gloss over the
mistakes. Evans said he's urged
Buice to cross-train employees,
which hasn't Occurred, and said
errors with county finances were
a bigger problem than any other
type of miscue.
Evans said, "The most impor-
tant component of the function of
this office and this county is the
money. We can't function without
money"
District 3 commissioner George
Emami also took umbrage with
Buice's complaints, saying Buice
didr/t make dear to commission-
ers the severity of the county's
financial situation.
Emami said to Buice: "Ewe had
known that we were in danger ,
of this happening again, in two
I
seconds I would have voted to
)
hire you some support staff or
something"
District 2 commissioner Eddie b
Rowland appeared to side with
4
Evans and Emami, reading aloud
a statement in last year's county
audit in which auditing firm <'
Mauldin & Jenkins instructed "'
r
the administrative office to take '"
corrective action in implementing ;
controls to ensure the timely pay-
ment of payroll taxes.
In contrast, District 3 commis-
sioner John Ambrose was more ;,
sympathetic to Buice and Wool- "
ey's plight. ,:
Ambrose said, "We all knew we
were short. Ashley was set up in a ? [
position to fail. And I take blame ,:
inthe fact that we (commission-
ers) didn't get some help in there",:, i
