Facing pressure to show significant progress in dealing with financial issues, Littleton town officials informed the North Carolina Local Government Commission in a meeting on Tuesday that they completed the town’s 2021 audit and are close to hiring a new long-term finance officer. That appears likely sufficient to prevent an immediate financial takeover of the small Halifax County town by the commission.
Town officials attended the meeting to provide updates on the financial situation in Littleton. Following the previous LGC meeting on April 1, the town was tasked with hiring a full-time finance director or at least showing efforts to hire one by April 30. The LGC also asked the town to provide the complete fiscal year 2021 audit by the close of business on May 4, the LGC notice and warning said.
Among those in attendance representing the town on Tuesday in Raleigh were Mayor Heidi Hogan and Beverly Stroud, the town’s auditor, according to the preliminary meeting agenda.
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The town ultimately came through by submitting the finished 2021 audit to the LGC on May 1, according to a press release from the State Treasurer.
Deputy Treasurer Denise Canada, secretary of the LGC, said in a statement to CPP that the submission is a “significant step forward” for Littleton.
The town has been more aggressive in its communication and overall approach within the past month, Hogan said in the meeting. She told CPP that it feels “wonderful” to have the audit done.
“It just had to be finally finished up and submitted,” Hogan said. “We are very excited about moving forward.”
Additionally, the town is close to securing a new finance director, Hogan said in the meeting. She said they interviewed 10 candidates, four stood out to them, and they ultimately picked one of those four. Hogan told CPP they are currently in the interview process with that candidate and the next interview with her will go over what the town can offer her financially.
“We think we found the perfect individual, and we’re looking forward to having a full-time finance officer,” Hogan told CPP.
Consultant guides Littleton
In the meeting, Hogan credited Joe Durham, a municipal operations consultant from the North Carolina League of Municipalities, for being “extraordinarily helpful” by reviewing their budget with them and helping them find a way to finance the audit and the finance director position.
“We really needed an outside viewpoint.” Hogan told CPP. “… Everybody does. We realized sitting down with him how very beneficial that was, how very differently he was able to look at our budget than we as a group were. Again, I would say that’s true of any municipality, regardless of the size. It takes away from the personalization of the budget.”
Durham will continue working with the town and their budget moving forward, Hogan said.
Given the progress that Littleton has made so far, the town will likely avoid a financial takeover for now, but the commission will continue to monitor the situation closely as the town still has “a significant amount of work ahead of them,” Canada said. She emphasized the importance of submitting audits on time and said the town’s top priority now should be completing the remaining audits.
Town still has work to do
“While I appreciate that the town is taking the LGC’s warnings seriously and that the FY 2020-21 audit is behind them, it’s important to recognize that this submission is four-and-a-half years late,” Canada said. “The statutory requirement to submit an annual audit on a timely basis is not arbitrary; it is a fundamental safeguard put in place to protect the taxpayers and citizens of the town.”
Littleton has already begun work on the remaining audits, Hogan told CPP. Stroud said on Tuesday that the town plans to have the fiscal year 2022 audit finished by this summer and the fiscal year 2023 audit done by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. No plans are in place yet for completing the audits for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Hogan said.
The town also gave an update on its water and sewer system on Tuesday. In the April 1 meeting, it was brought up that the town was having some difficulty managing the system after its operator left in 2021. Littleton subsequently contracted with Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District in what was supposed to be a six-month contract but has stretched to this year.
On Tuesday, Hogan said the town is currently working on an agreement with Halifax County to potentially merge its water and sewer system with the county’s system, a decision that has garnered support from the LGC.
“We are also keen for the town to continue its conversations with Halifax County concerning the potential for the county to take control or ownership of Littleton’s water/sewer system,” Canada said. “We appreciate Halifax County being a good partner to Littleton and its residents by entering into those conversations.”
Speed’s demise
In other news, the town of Speed has begun the process of a voluntary dissolution, Durham said in Tuesday’s LGC meeting.
As CPP previously reported, the town first adopted a resolution of intent to dissolve last October and will hold a public hearing on the dissolution plan on May 12. Once the Board votes on the plan, it will become effective on June 30, Durham said.
The Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution to receive town assets in a meeting on Monday.
The county will not have to assume any outstanding debt from the town, Durham said.
Next steps for Littleton
Regarding next steps for Littleton, the LGC has requested that officials return in September to discuss any additional progress the town has made, Canada said.
Additionally, the town was issued a notice of noncompliance last week for not submitting their fiscal year 2025 audit by April 1.
If Littleton still hasn’t submitted the audit by June 30, it’s essentially viewed as consent to having some of its sales tax distributions withheld. The town can appeal the notice and the withholding — and likely will — which would also be addressed at the September meeting, Canada said.
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