Effort to help minority businesses spent much, did little

Charleston County spent more than $400,000 in taxpayer money on a minority business outreach effort that accomplished little, but provided lucrative contracts for several politically connected consultants.

The goal of the outreach was to ensure that local minorities received job training, internships, and a share of the multimillion-dollar road construction contracts financed by the half-cent sales tax.

After two and a half years, a change in program coordinators, and two critical reports by outside consultants, the county has pulled the program back in house, to be handled by county staff.

The coordinator for most of RoadWise's minority outreach effort has called the program a failure, and has in turn been criticized in consultant reports, but no one is accepting blame.

Most of the controversy played out behind the scenes, in documents the newspaper obtained through the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

Find out what the Post and Courier learned in those documents and in interviews in Sunday's story.