Union County has been shaken to its core over the past two years by a seemingly unending series of revelations of scandals involving elected and other public officials. These scandals involved various forms of corruption — some already proven and some only allegations still winding their way through the criminal justice system — in the form of conspiracies hatched and perpetrated behind closed doors and in the shadows of the corridors of local government.
When such scandals occur there are only two ways to deal with them, the first being in the courts where guilt and innocence may be determined in accordance with the law and judgment rendered. This is the easiest part of the process.
Much harder is the second part, the restoration of public trust in their governing institutions. What makes it harder is that, in seeking public office either through election or appointment, the accused presented themselves as persons worthy of the public’s trust. They told the people of this county they were honest, decent and law-abiding, words that have been called into question in the most devastating way possible.
How can the people of this county can ever again trust local government to be something other than a cover for a collection of criminal enterprises carried out by those who swore — on the Bible — to uphold the law of the land? How can local government — and those entrusted with its conduct — ever again regain the trust of the people who depend on it and upon whom it depends?
The only way is for local government to be made as open to public scrutiny as possible and that process took a tremendous leap last week when Supervisor Tommy Sinclair and Clerk of Court Freddie Gault announced a triple-play for achieving transparency.
1) Internal audit of the clerk of court’s office.
Gault brought in former clerk of court June Miller to catch up on months of administrative work left undone by his predecessor and to conduct an internal audit of the office’s books. Even though the findings of the internal audit have proved disturbing, the fact that it is under way and continues and the results have been made public is an important signpost on the road to transparency.
2) State audit.
Also announced last week was a state audit of the clerk’s and treasurer’s office. This was welcomed by Sinclair, Gault and Union County Treasurer Dianne Wilkins. Sinclair pointed out while an internal audit is good, restoring public trust requires the county’s books be audited by an outside, neutral agency. Before the state announced its intention to conduct an audit, Sinclair said the county had been considering hiring a firm to come in and conduct an audit in order to provide the transparency he and Gault promised when they were appointed and that the county needs to move forward.
The audit of the county’s books by an outside agency is as necessary to rebuilding public confidence in local government as the investigations by the FBI and SLED were necessary to exposing local corruption. Just as Sheriff David Taylor didn’t hesitate to call in SLED when he discovered something was amiss in the clerk’s office, Sinclair and Gault have no reluctance whatsoever to welcome an audit by the state. This willingness to involve outside authorities for the good of the community is a welcome development that should be supported and encouraged by the people of Union County.
3) Voluntary drug-testing.
Also welcome is the news that county employees and officials are willing to participate in a voluntary drug testing program. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, most of those who work in local government are honorable men and women who, as Gault observed, have been hurt by the revelations of the last several months. Like Gault and Sinclair, they too are committed to openess in government and are willling to sacrifice some of their privacy to provide assurances that they are as honest, decent, law-abiding and clean as the great majority of the people of Union County are.
The internal audit is continuing, the state audit will soon get under way and the voluntary drug testing will begin even sooner. These are all welcome steps toward the transparency promised by Sinclair and Gault. It is our hope those steps will continue and local government will become so transparent as to make scandals like the ones this county has endured a thing of the past.
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