Hello Hampton County
We the undersigned being taxpaying citizens of Hampton County and after a thorough review of County Councils plan to recoup five million dollars of misspent restricted funds, find that; with no specific amounts noted nor a timeline for repayment established, the plan is catastrophically flawed with no chance to payback misspent funds for decades. A plan must contain specific and measurable metrics in order to monitor progress toward achieving complete recoupment of these misspent funds. A wish and a hope are neither a plan nor a goal. The children and adults of this county have waited long enough for the facilities we voted and paid for. We therefore petition Council to enact the following metrics along with policies and procedures by whatever means necessary, including amending 22-23 budget and establishing purchasing and spending controls necessary to prevent this from reoccurring. We view these steps as the minimal actions necessary to achieve recoupment within seven to eight years.
1)Enact an immediate spending freeze with only line items currently in budget to receive funding.
2)Utilize fy 21-22 actuals and rework fy 22-23 budget based on these actuals in essence reflecting no spending increases
3)Commit 3.5% of total revenue for recoupment in fy 22-23 and deposit in a restricted account requiring a majority of Councils approval for withdrawal. No grant monies may be used as offsets to this annual commitment
4)Enact procedures requiring a majority of Council approvals prior to expending any funds from restricted funds or accounts.
5) Enact procedures requiring a majority of Council approval for all expenditures, purchase orders, check requisitions or contracts in excess of $5,000 and not noted as a line item in the approved budget.
6)All purchase orders, check requisitions, or contracts in excess of $25,000 would require a majority of councils approval in writing via signature–
Mrs. faye gooding
fhgooding@gmail.com