INV-2025-0322

The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) received allegations via the State Auditor’s Tipline regarding the Town of Mount Olive (Town), the Mount Olive Water Department (Water Department), and the Mount Olive Municipal Airport (Airport). During the investigation, OSA received an additional allegation regarding a Town Hall employee who did not accurately record the hours she worked on her timesheet. During the investigation, additional items were discovered requiring to be reported that were not directly related to the objectives. The result of the investigation includes several findings:

• There is no evidence the Town misappropriated tourism tax revenue from the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.
• Verification of Wi-Fi and telephone services at the airport could not be made due to the Town's records being so severely mismanaged and in conflict with documentation from service providers.
• The Town bears the financial burden of providing fuel at the Airport, even though it is the Airport Operator who is contractually obligated to purchase and sell the fuel.
• The Town’s Airport Operator extends credit on the Town’s behalf for fuel purchases.
• The Town’s Finance Director lacks a process to verify monthly fuel commission invoices from the Airport Operator, creating a risk of overpayment.
• The Town’s Finance Director did not include all checks in the Town’s accounting system.
• A sitting Town Commissioner failed to pay his utility bill for several months, yet his water service was not disconnected.
• In 2024, hundreds of water cutoff fees were voided monthly. This includes cutoff fees for two employees of the Water Department who failed to pay their utility bills and manipulated the system so their water service was not disconnected.
• The Town’s utility rates were improperly entered into the Town’s utility system and resulted in over $210,000 in lost revenue to the Town.
• The Town lacks policies and procedures governing the authorization of timesheets for hourly employees.

Details about the findings and recommendations can be found in the report. The Town of Mount Olive accepts the findings and recommendations in the report.