The Town of Swansea passed its budget Aug. 22, but tensions on Town Council remain after a meeting in which the man hired to conduct a town audit accused two council members of racism.

Council passed second reading on the 2022-23 budget 3-2, with Council Members Michael Luongo and Doris Simmons dissenting. Those two council members filed a lawsuit against Mayor Viola McDaniel, Clerk/Treasurer Margaret Harvey  and Auditor John Brown last week seeking answers about $3.3 million worth of assets that Brown said weren’t accounted for in his audit of the previous year’s budget. 

The suit, a copy of which was provided to the Chronicle, seeks for Brown to answer questions about the audit and takes aim at McDaniel for adjourning an Aug. 16 council meeting where the budget was on the agenda “before the issue of the audit was even discussed.”

As he was scheduled to do on the Aug. 22 meeting’s agenda, Brown gave his report on the audit. In it, he responded directly to questions from Mayor Pro-Tem Linda Butler and Council Member Jerome Sanders, saying that Simmons and Luongo did not, as he requested, submit their questions via email. He did not take any other questions from council during the meeting.

Brown directly addressed the $3.3 million worth of unaccounted-for assets.

“When I attempted to test fixed assets by comparing the fiscal year 2020 ending balance to the fiscal year 2021 beginning balance, there were no amounts included in the accounting system for fiscal year 2021,” he said. “Hence my statement that the fixed assets are understated by at least $3.3 million. That was the total fixed assets for the year 2020.”

Brown called the lawsuit brought by Luongo and Simmons “cowardly, underhanded and spurious.” He said he was already scheduled to give his report to council at the Aug. 22 meeting before the suit was filed. He also noted that he had previously been scheduled to give his audit report to council in April before that meeting was canceled by McDaniel when there wasn’t a quorum, and further noted that Simmons was among those who was unable to attend.

Brown, who is Black, went on to describe what he framed as a history of preferential behavior toward white town employees on the part of Luongo and Simmons, saying everyone they’ve gone after about financial issues — including McDaniel and former Mayor Jerald Sanders — have been people of color. He said Luongo and Simmons, who are white, didn’t go after a white employee about whom his 2020 audit report showed “suspicious and questionable activities to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.”

Sanders was indicted by a state grand jury last year after he was accused of taking public money and transferring it to an account he managed. That case has not yet gone to trial.

Brown said he tendered his resignation from doing the town audit in March because he no longer wanted to deal with Luongo and Simmons. He left the meeting immediately after giving his report.

“As my parting statement to the citizens of Swansea, we’re living in 2022, not 1822,” he said. “Simmons and Luongo’s ... racist views will prevent the town from moving forward. The sooner you vote them out of office, the better off the town will be.”

Before the vote, Simmons indicated there were issues with contracts that had not yet been put out for bids that gave her pause about the budget.

At the end of the meeting, Mayor McDaniel thanked council for voting to approve “my budget.”

Luongo said after the meeting that with the lawsuit, he and Simmons are “trying to ... get information about the town’s funds.”

“Obviously [Brown’s] passionate about what he does,” Luongo said in response to the auditor’s accusations. “I give him kudos for that. But so am I as a councilmember. He’s entitled to whatever he wants to say, and that's why I've got an attorney to do the talking for me.”

Simmons also deferred to their attorney, Jake Moore, for comment. Moore said he’d never seen anything like this, with an auditor refusing to answer questions and firing accusations at members of the body that hired him.

“It does amaze me that a person who I believe was unanimously voted to have the job could come into the town and basically trash people,” the attorney said. “[He] has just a free shot at the people who hired him and then walks away without answering any questions. ... I've done work for municipal government for years and years. I've never seen an auditor give a report that’s qualified like that and refuse to answer questions from the people who hired him.”

Mayor McDaniel also declined to comment, deferring to Joseph Dickey, the town’s attorney.

“I think what the town wants is the town to pass the budget and start moving forward and continue moving the town in a positive direction,” he said. “This lawsuit obviously is unfortunate. But hopefully some questions and outstanding issues regarding the audit were answered tonight. And now the town can continue moving forward.”