UPDATE: Audit Finds Former Tarboro City Manager Made $366K in Excessive Purchases | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Barry Smith, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Mayor claims finding that he took improper reimbursements a misunderstanding

    RALEIGH     State Auditor Beth Wood said an audit pointing out hundreds of thousands of dollars in misspending by top Tarboro officials should serve as a call for governing boards across North Carolina to ratchet up their oversight of public spending.

    "It's a huge message to cities and councils, that their board members, their commissioners, their city council members are watching their operations," Wood said Tuesday. "These are the things that council members should have their arms around."

    Wood's office issued an investigative audit finding numerous violations and irregularities centered on former Tarboro Town Manager Sam Noble.

    The investigative audit found that, over a six-year period, Noble made nearly $366,000 in purchases that exceeded the scope of his duties and that he obtained more than $87,000 for universal life insurance premiums without approval of the Tarboro Town Council.

    The audit chides Noble for failing to comply with the town's purchasing policies. The report says that many of the items purchased appeared not to relate to his job as a town administrator.

    Among reimbursements Noble received were $15,405 for items purchased at the Apple Store, $19,665 for purchases at Boater's World, $8,316 for items from Dick's Sporting Goods, $11,071 for Best Buy, and $8,533 for items purchased at Bass Pro Shops. Items purchased included shirts, coolers, gun holsters, life vests, flashlights, helmets, wetsuits, marine equipment, knives, and jackets.

    He also purchased police equipment, including handguns, that were not necessary for his duties, the report says. "A former police chief said there was no reason the former town manager needed all the police equipment and clothing," the report said.

    According to the audit report, Noble said he liked to accompany police officers on assignments and needed the same supplies. However, the town manager's job description says his duties were to "observe departmental activities to assess operational efficiency," not to participate as a police officer, the report says.

    The report says that Noble would charge purchases to other city departments "For example, he purchased $394 of boating supplies from Boater's World and charged it to the Electric Department, although interviews with Electric Department employees revealed that the department did not have a boat," the report says. As a result of those purchases, one former department head told auditors that he had to check his department's account before making any purchases because Noble often would deplete the department's funds.

    The report also questions nearly $85,000 in reimbursements for 455 trips that may not have been necessary and $7,000 in questionable reimbursements for 289 meals at restaurants in Tarboro over the period.

    A former department head told auditors that while Noble possessed a town credit card, he preferred to use his personal credit card so he could accumulate rewards points.

    Noble retired as town manager Dec. 31, 2010, but continued to work for the town on an interim basis until July 31, 2011.

    The audit also found that a former accounting clerk, who left her job voluntarily, may have violated state law by obtaining more than $30,000 in unemployment benefits that she was not eligible to receive.

    The report says that although the clerk resigned, the town's human resources director reported to the Division of Employment Security that the town had eliminated the clerk's job.

    In addition, the audit found that the current mayor, Rick Page, who was the former Electric Department director, received almost $28,000 in reimbursements for his ex-wife's health insurance and that the council failed to oversee town operations to ensure accountability.

    Page noted that further investigations are underway, and said he didn't think it was appropriate to comment on the report until those measures are completed.

    As for actions revealed in the report that he committed, Page said he thought there was some misunderstanding, and did not want to comment.

    Page provided a three-paragraph letter to Wood's office saying the town accepts the auditor's recommendations. Attached to his response were details on how the town planned to respond to the investigation, including incorporating some of the recommendations into the town's policies.

    The audit recommends that the council seek legal counsel regarding repayment of the inappropriately spent funds and regularly review the town manager's performance, including an analysis of his expenses. It also asks the Division of Employment Security to determine whether the clerk violated state law by obtaining improper unemployment benefits. It also said the town should require Page to repay misrepresented reimbursements for his ex-wife's health insurance.

    The audit's findings have been referred to the State Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the N.C. Department of Revenue, and the Division of Employment Security for appropriate legal action.

    Wood insisted that town councils, boards of commissioners, and school boards must take an active role in overseeing their professional staffs' performance.

    "If you've got no oversight over that, then things get a bit lackadaisical, lazy," Wood said.

    Wood said the council initially conducted its own audit into questionable purchases by Noble, apparently after he retired. She said the council wasn't satisfied with the earlier audit and reached out to her office.