06/02/2026
A Promise Made Should Be a Promise Kept
Last night our county attorney stated that the forensic audit was not a contingency of the tax increase passed on May 5, 2025.
Respectfully, I disagree.
I was there.
That meeting lasted approximately six and a half hours. We spent hours debating the tax rate. Motion after motion failed. Nobody could agree on a path forward.
Then Supervisor Nate Kiser made a motion to set the tax rate at 57.9 cents with a full county forensic audit required.
Chairman David Eaton's response was:
"If you'll leave everything intact, I'm good with that."
A few minutes later, before the vote was taken, he restated the motion:
"57.9 and that's if we allow a forensic audit on Russell County."
There was no confusion about what was being voted on.
I'll be honest with you, I struggled with that vote. I did not want to raise taxes. I was firmly against it. But I also believed then, and still believe now, that public trust had been damaged and that transparency matters.
During that meeting, I said:
"We do see that the public has lost trust and I do think that it is important to try to be transparent."
The forensic audit was never about attacking county employees, department heads, or elected officials. It was about restoring confidence and letting the public see for themselves.
What happened after the vote is just as important.
Almost immediately, the Chairman began talking about the forensic audit as though it was a waste of money. The discussion became heated enough that Mr. Kiser finally asked him:
"Why are you so upset about it? You voted for it, so what are you complaining about?"
The discussion continued long enough that County Attorney Tyler Starnes eventually stepped in and told everyone to move on.
If the audit wasn't part of the agreement, why was there an argument about it immediately after the vote?
Then we spent months pursuing it. We issued an RFP. We appointed a committee consisting of Mr. Breeding and Mr. Kiser to review applicants, conduct interviews, and make recommendations to the Board. That takes time. That takes effort. That takes taxpayer resources.
Those are not the actions of a Board treating something as insignificant. Those are the actions of a Board implementing a decision that it had already made.
That's why I struggle with the idea that the forensic audit wasn't really part of the deal. If it wasn't, then why was it included in the motion? Why did we spend months pursuing it? Why issue an RFP? Why appoint a committee? Why interview firms? Why negotiate?
The answer seems obvious to me: Because the Board voted to do it.
When the governing body of Russell County votes to do something, it should happen.
A 5-2 vote isn't a suggestion. It's an action of the Board. The taxpayers paid the higher tax rate. The county received the additional revenue. The commitment was made.
This isn't about personalities. This isn't about politics. And it certainly isn't about making accusations. It's about whether the commitments we make to the people of Russell County mean something.
This was no small thing.
The meeting lasted six and a half hours because of this issue. The vote failed multiple times before a compromise was reached. The forensic audit was discussed before the vote, during the vote, and after the vote. Then we spent months pursuing it. The record shows intent. The actions show intent. The process shows intent.
Russell County taxpayers deserve a government that follows through on the commitments it makes.
Honor the audit that was promised to the taxpayers. Period.
