Vehicle tax bill sparks probe

Dorchester County office gave some breaks, audit finds

Dorchester County Councilman Mike Murphree thought it was odd late last year when the vehicle tax bill on his 2004 Mercedes convertible rang up at a mere $200. Somehow, the Auditor's Office slashed the value of his luxury car from about $45,000 to $15,000.

"I said, 'Are you sure this is right?' Everybody did a head nod and out the door I went."

Then he started hearing rumors that employees in the Auditor's Office were handing out unwarranted vehicle tax breaks to family and friends. Murphree's suspicions, coupled with subsequent concerns raised by Auditor Brenda Nix, were confirmed this week when an outside accounting firm told County Council that an initial review of vehicle tax records indicates an alarming trend.

Several employees in the Auditor's Office might have improperly reduced vehicle tax bills on thousands of vehicles over several years. If even a fraction approach the $500 break that Murphree got, the hit to county coffers could be tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Vehicle tax revenues pump some $16 million into county coffers every year, helping pay for schools, public safety and other services.

Nix, who has worked in the office for 30 years, approached County Council in April after discovering discrepancies in her office's vehicle tax records. She brought in an accounting firm to conduct a cursory look, and the results were reported to council members Tuesday in a closed-door meeting.

Councilman Chris Murphy said the early results are troubling.

"They found thousands and thousands of questionable transactions," Murphy said. "At best, it's gross negligence. At worst, there's criminal liability there."

Council Chairman Larry Hargett said that because Nix is a constitutionally elected officer, council must defer to her. But he said he believes Nix has handled the matter appropriately by trying to get to the bottom of what happened.

Nix did not return calls seeking comment.

Council members say Nix now has several decisions before her. First, she must decide whether to have the accounting firm dig deeper and conduct a full audit. If she does that, she'll have to decide whether any discipline is warranted or whether the matter should be referred to the Solicitor's Office for possible criminal charges.

Nix was appointed auditor by Gov. Mark Sanford in October to fill out the term of Johnette Connelley, who resigned to become finance director for the Berkeley County Water and Sanitation Authority.

Nix is not running for the office in next month's primary, but that hasn't insulated her from charges that she is playing politics. In April, Nix suspended one of her clerks, Teresa Smoak Messex, for failing to follow procedure on the sale of a mobile home. Messex is running for the auditor's seat.

Messex could not be reached Thursday for comment. But in an earlier interview, she said the office had no procedure in the case of the mobile home sale, and she accused Nix of trying to sabotage her campaign.

Connelley said Thursday that the Auditor's Office received clean outside audits every year she was in charge and that she is shocked by the allegations now swirling around her former colleagues.

Connelley said it would have been nearly impossible for her to detect any kind of fraud because her job was to focus on the big picture and make sure the books balanced. "This is a shock to me. If I had any inkling and proof, I'd have fired them."

The process of valuing vehicles can be subjective because different companies might assign different values to the same car. But state law entitles vehicle owners to only one reduction, based on high mileage, damage or some other appeal, Connelley said. "The taxpayer wants it as low as they can get it," she said.

Murphree said that in his case, and he suspects those of many others, the Auditor's Office illegally applied multiple tax reductions.

For his part, Murphree said that as soon as he realized he received a discount he wasn't entitled to, he returned to the Auditor's Office and paid the higher tax value, an extra $500 or so. "I didn't ask for this. I'm not going to be a part of this at all."

He wonders how the county ever will collect the money lost over the years to improper tax assessments. Who will 'fess up? And could the county now charge those who got breaks?

"Taxpayers in this county were shorted thousands and thousands of dollars," Murphy said. "I don't believe we will ever know how much was lost."

Reach Ron Menchaca at rmenchaca@postandcourier.com or 937-5724.