State Audit Slams Rural Center | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Barry Smith, who [author role] for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Report says center held interest it didn't deserve, paid execs too much

    RALEIGH     An audit by State Auditor Beth Wood released today has come down on the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center for gaining $20 million in interest from undisbursed state funds, money that is not available to the state.

    The audit (PDF) also chides the Rural Center for having unreasonable executive pay for President Billy Ray Hall and its vice presidents, not verifying job creation and other performance measures for at least five years, and not diligently enforcing grant reporting requirements.

    It notes that Hall was paid $221,070 per year for an annual salary and car allowance during the 2012 fiscal year. "This is $96,394 (77.31 percent) more than the secretary of commerce, whose agency provided the primary funding for the Rural Center," the report says.

    The report recommends that the Rural Center and Department of Commerce request clarification from the General Assembly about the intended use of interest earnings from state funds.

    It also says that the Rural Center independently should verify all information provided by grantees for accuracy and reliability, notify grantees when they fail to comply with grant terms, and compensate its employees at a rate that is comparable to executives in similar positions.

    In its appendix, the auditor took issue with a number of responses Hall made to the audit.

    Check back with Carolina Journal Online with updates to this story.