County hires firm to find missing funds

An outside accounting firm has been hired by the county to find $600,000 worth of discrepancies in the Madison County Tax Collector’s Office.

The Madison County Board of Supervisors approved an open-ended contract on Monday with Ridgeland-based Grantham Poole to take a deep dive into Tax Collector Kay Pace’s books to find out where the money is. 

Pace appeared before the Board of Supervisors on Monday and touted the work her office does but didn’t bring up the unaccounted funds or the audit. Instead, she said the law required her to bring in an auditor to close out her books before she retires at the end of the year. 

“The law requires I bring in an auditor before I resign completely…and I have to have those books audited for the county of Madison and let them know everything is OK,” she told supervisors. “That’s why I’m brining (Grantham Poole) in.”

Board President Gerald Steen honed in on the scope of the engagement, with Grantham Poole partner Stephanie B. Smith saying this was going to be a forensic audit specifically looking into the missing funds. 

Smith told supervisors her expertise is in forensic accounting. 

It was revealed last month by County Administrator Greg Higginbotham that going back to 2017 the Tax Collector’s Office has failed to keep adequate books and a recent audit returned a qualified opinion, which could impact the county’s borrowing abilities in the future. 

Grantham Poole is charging the county $350 per hour for partner fees and $140 per hour for staff fees. 

Supervisors brought up the open-ended contract and how there was no idea of length or expense. 

Smith said they would start looking month-by-month but would communicate with the board in 30 days what she expects the full audit to cost. 

“All I can say to you is that we’ve got to get started,” she said. 

Smith added that once the discrepancies are uncovered, they will suggest policies and procedures to put in place to deter repeat offenses. 

The contract was approved unanimously, with District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter absent.