Aiken County preparing to ramp up Wagener fire fee investigation again

Apr. 20—After being stalled for a long time, Aiken County's investigation into how fire fees were spent in the Town of Wagener might start moving forward again in the near future.

County Administrator Clay Killian told County Council's Judicial and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday that the county had a letter of engagement with the accounting firm Elliott Davis to conduct the financial review, but needed to get the signatures of Wagener Mayor Mike Miller and Wagener Fire Department Chief David Watson in order to proceed.

Killian said the Town of Wagener had been notified earlier that day.

In an interview with the Aiken Standard on Wednesday morning, Miller reported that a copy of the letter had been received Tuesday and that the town was seeking legal advice.

"I printed it and we're going to look over it today," he said of the document. "I see no issues with our full cooperation. I don't have any objection whatsoever. We want it (the financial review) as bad as they do."

The Judicial and Public Safety Committee met at the Aiken County Government Center prior to County Council's meeting as a whole Tuesday.

In Aiken County, volunteer fire departments, such as the one in Wagener, assess the fire fees in their districts. The county collects the fees from taxpayers and then distributes them to the fire departments.

The money is supposed to be used by fire departments for operational expenses such as equipment purchases, utilities, fuel for vehicles and firefighting supplies.

Because of concerns about how the fees were being spent in Wagener, County Council unanimously approved a resolution in February 2021 that directed Killian and his staff to request records and other information from the town and its fire department.

Prior to then, disagreements between Wagener officials and Wagener fire department leaders had resulted in the suspensions and subsequent dismissals of Fire Chief Mark Redd and Assistant Fire Chief George Day.

Watson has served as Wagener's fire chief since February 2021.

In April of last year, Killian recommended to County Council's Judicial and Public Safety Committee that someone be hired "to go and sit down" with representatives of the Town of Wagener "to go through their records."

He said that neither the county nor the town had the staff needed to complete the task "without some guidance."

The committee responded by voting unanimously to authorize Killian to find an auditor to provide assistance.

In July 2021, the Aiken Standard reported that Elliott Davis, who is the county's auditor, would be helping with the investigation.

But from there, it proved to be difficult to make any progress.

Killian told the Aiken Standard on Tuesday that because of Elliott Davis's busy schedule and medical leaves by staff, the firm had difficulty last year finding the time to do the work related to Wagener.

"They just got overwhelmed," Killian said. "Because this was such a small project, it wasn't a priority.

"We talked about trying to find a smaller firm that wasn't as busy, but frankly, smaller firms are just as busy, especially during tax season. We didn't have much luck.

"I'm not throwing Elliott Davis under the bus," Killian added. "Their circumstances were such that they just couldn't get to it until now. It's not anybody's fault."

Based on financial records obtained by the county and the Aiken Standard from the Town of Wagener, tens of thousands of fire department dollars were moved to the town's General Fund account between 2011 and 2020.

There also are transfers from the General Fund account to fire department accounts.

In addition, the statements show money moving between fire department accounts and accounts for the Wagener Medical Center, a town park, and the town's water and sewer department.

Under Redd and Day's leadership, the Wagener Fire Department made purchases and allocations of money that raised questions.

Killian estimated that it would take Elliott Davis "a couple or three months" to complete its financial review, which will focus on the time period from Jan. 1, 2019 until Dec. 31, 2021.

The cost to the county will be "just under $10,000," Killian said. "I don't remember the exact number."

During the meeting of County Council as a whole Tuesday, the panel approved the following:

—The first reading of an ordinance to change the zoning designation for an approximately 10-acre tract on Crown Crest Lane near Aiken from Industrial Development to Rural Development.

—A resolution to authorize the Aiken County Public Service Authority to purchase a spare gear box and motor that would be used in the Horse Creek wastewater treatment plant's carousel treatment process for $164,382.22 from Earnhardt Electric Services Inc.

—A resolution to hold a public hearing to consider the enlargement of the Belvedere Fire District.

—Resolutions to accept three grants worth a total of $21,500 from PalmettoPride for the Keep Aiken County Beautiful program, Adopt-A-Highway program and Aiken County Code Enforcement Department for equipment, tools, supplies, training and marketing.