The town of East Laurinburg will cease to exist as an incorporated municipality after June 30, 2022. The Local Government Commission (LGC) voted unanimously Tuesday, Dec. 7, to dissolve the beleaguered Scotland County town, exercising for the first time new statutory power to revoke charters of local governments that are in fiscal distress and unable to sustain operations.
In a letter a few weeks ago, State Auditor Beth Wood insisted that applications to purchase the Bald Head Island ferry (System) by the Village of Bald Head Island (Village) and the Bald Head Island Transportation Authority (Authority) not be included in the December Local Government Commission (LGC) agenda.
Stymied after multiple attempts to gain cooperation from the struggling town of East Laurinburg to correct major bookkeeping, banking and auditing deficiencies, the Local Government Commission (LGC) has voted to impound the town’s books and assume full control of its finances.
State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, called on State Auditor Beth Wood to investigate the financial statements of Rural Hall. The Forsyth County town of 3,351 residents has recently experienced turmoil with the resignations of three of the four members of the Town Council as well as the town’s manager.
I would like to thank State Auditor Beth Wood and her staff for their hard work in today’s audit that found misappropriations of funds in East Laurinburg. In addition, I am asking the North Carolina General Assembly to immediately decharter East Laurinburg.