The South Carolina Treasurer's Office is withholding about $10.5 million from Orangeburg County due to the county not meeting the state's Jan. 1 legal deadline to report financial statements.
As of June 25, the office was withholding $10,495,442.55 from the county because it failed to meet the Jan. 1, 2024, deadline to submit its 2023 audit ending the fiscal year of June 30, 2023.
According to the state treasurer’s office, Orangeburg County is the only county in the state to have a delinquent outstanding audit for 2023. The money is being withheld from the county and will not be released until the office receives the county's 2023 fiscal year audited financial statements, according to department officials. Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said the audit is being finalized and should be ready by late June or early July.
South Carolina state law mandates counties perform annual audits and that the state treasurer's is required to withhold certain funding if counties do not submit their completed audit by the Jan. 1 deadline of the year following the ending of the fiscal year’s audit. State officials say reporting on time helps county councils set their budgets and keeps government operations transparent to the public.
Without the state’s deadline, there might be no accountability. While the state is withholding funds for the late 2023 fiscal year audit, it did release $22,466,118.65 due the county from its delinquent FY22 audit.
The county submitted its 2022 f.