GOP may hire auditor

MONCKS CORNER — Berkeley County's Republican chairman on Monday said he will ask the party next month to hire an independent auditor to determine the possibility of missing funds.

Chairman James Curry said a preliminary audit of a bank account the party closed earlier this year shows "some things are out of order."

He and Treasurer Steve Query cautioned, though, that they are still early in the process and that it's possible the worst thing they uncover is sloppy bookkeeping.

"I don't know whether there's missing money or not," Query said. "We don't have enough information. We're still in the exploratory stage."

Several party members asked for an audit a month ago when it was revealed that former Chairman Bill Wilcox wrote a $429 check in April to cover the insurance of the party's convention site. Officials said the account had $57 at the time the check was written.

They closed the account after a party member covered the check and overdraft fee.

Curry and Query were elected to office during the party's April convention.

Wilcox decided not to run again after it was revealed he had at least one conviction and multiple pending charges for writing fraudulent checks under $500. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

The executive committee appeared to have voted last month to have one of its own members, Mac McBride, a retired financial planner, do the audit. He said Monday, however, that he has yet to receive any of the records.

Query and Executive Committeeman Wayland Moody said they aren't sure there even was a vote.

Nancy Corbin, one of those who asked for an audit, said she's worried the party is stalling. "I think there's a lot of people who don't want any investigation," she said.

Curry and Query said they want the executive committee to hire an independent auditor in order to keep politics out of the process.

The party has been sharply divided into two groups, and they differ on whether an auditor is even needed. "If we throw it over to one side or the other, the other side is going to say we favor the other side," Query said.

McBride said he agrees an independent auditor or perhaps the State Law Enforcement Division should be called in to review the finances.

"If I'd gone in and found some things that appeared to be illegal, that's what I would recommend," he said. "I wouldn't get myself involved in that situation."

While Curry said missing funds are "certainly a possibility," he said he wants to wait for an independent review of the records to ensure there's a reason to turn them over to the SLED before doing so.

Query said "by no means" are the financial records ready to be turned over to SLED.

"There are too many unknowns yet," he said. "If I turned it in right now, you'd get a note back saying there is some mighty sloppy bookkeeping."

Reach Andy Paras at aparas@postandcourier.com or 843-745-5891.