JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Members of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors are reacting to the State Auditor’s scathing 2020 audit of county finances.
State Auditor Shad White (R-Miss.) called Hinds County a “walking fraud risk” in an audit that outlined how critical understaffing delays county business.
Supervisor Robert Graham, District 1, said he agreed with most of the auditor’s findings, but he said the ongoing staffing issues are a side effect from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Basically, what the auditor is saying is that we need to change. Finding people to work, keeping staff members. It’s not an unfair criticism, but it is a criticism that has an explanation and that is COVID,” said Graham.
The 2020 audit began in September 2022. According to White, audits typically take seven to nine months. However, the Hinds County audit took 15 months due to inadequate Hinds County staffing not being able to handle records requests.
Hinds County Administrator Kenny Wayne Jones agreed with the findings.
“Without the proper financials, with the limited staff we have, everything he said was true,” said Jones.
He also hopes this sheds light on the fact that the understaffing that delayed the audit is also delaying the county’s own internal audits conducted by private auditing services. According to Jones, Hinds County has yet to complete the internal audit for the year 2020.
“I’m still looking at 2020 being completed now, so ‘19 had to be completed first. So, that’s how bad it really is,” he stated.
Jones said he has been working to implement structures within the county to avoid future delayed audits. Even amidst a scathing report from the State Auditor and it’s own internal delays, both men are optimistic about the county’s finances.
“The message I would have to Hinds County taxpayers is everything is fine. We gotta just streamline everything to find out what we need to put what, where. And that’s what we’re doing now,” said Jones.
“Everything is not going to hell in a hand basket. People may look at this as a scathing report from the State Auditor, I look at it as a way for us to make changes,” said Graham.