Heisting Timmonsville: Everyone does it
When burglars broke into the Timmonsville Town Hall and raided the mayor's office and the now-defunct police department, taking records and weapons, they weren't the only ones using Town Hall to pull heists. They were just the ones who were smart enough to hide their identities during the act. These moments are just part of the ongoing circus that is the town of Timmonsville, which recently fired most of its employees, including the police department.
Last week, in a late-night break-in, thieves hit Town Hall, taking court records, cash, weapons and raided the town's evidence safe. According to local news media, the masked bandits, who were caught on video, remain at large.
Earlier in the week, the town got news of another raid conducted upon the town. This one was done from the inside, revealed when a financial auditor informed Timmonsville's council and Mayor that an audit couldn't be conducted because the town had no financial records to audit.
Charping, who was hired earlier this year to advise the debt plagued town on how to get its financial house in order, told town council members Tuesday that while Timmonsville has checks and receipts from throughout the year, there was never any formal record keeping to satisfy the needs of an audit.
“You have to understand that no auditor can audit something that doesn’t exist,” Charping told council.
As a result, the auditing firm, selected in April to conduct the town’s annual financial review, has withdrawn from the project entirely last week, saying it would be too much work to conduct an audit without the proper accounting information.
However the auditor did inform the town of a previously-hidden account holding town money, listed as the "Lori Anderson Charitable Trust" and could only be accessed by the town's former treasurer, Dora Lee, who had been dismissed in a recent mass-firing.
It was explained that in past years, information for the audits was put together just in time to conduct the annual audits which are required by state law. However, those past audits missed the Lori Anderson account.
Given the numerous problems faced by the town, it seems hard to believe there won't be more problems surfacing in the not-too-distant future. We'll be watching ...
Given the numerous problems faced by the town, it seems hard to believe there won't be more problems surfacing in the not-too-distant future. We'll be watching ...
I will not be surprised if in the future Timmonsville is forced into bankruptcy and is eventually un-incorporated. It this happens it will be a sad day for the residents but a perfect example of what unchecked crime, greed and corruption can do....teg