RALEIGH — A state investigative audit report was released near the end of March detailing a series of policy violations by officials in the Town of Elm City, a Wilson County community of approximately 1,218 residents.
The report, issued by the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) led by State Auditor Dave Boliek, was initiated after allegations were received through the OSA’s Tipline regarding the town’s financial practices.
“Purchasing policies are enacted to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse,” Boliek said in the report’s transmittal letter. “As documented in this report, Elm City officials have on several occasions violated the Town’s policies and increased the risk of fraud, waste, or abuse of tax dollars.”
The investigation covered fiscal operations, including payments to town officials, procurement card use, vendor payments, bonus disbursements and the town’s handling of unclaimed funds.
Among the report’s findings, a former commissioner and former mayor were paid for services they provided as vendors without receiving board approval, as required by the town’s Conflict of Interest Policy. Between June 2023 and June 2025, four checks totaling $2,420 were issued to the two officials for those services.
Details included the former commissioner receiving $2,145 for mechanical work on town vehicles and a water service call, and Tawanda Moore, the former mayor, receiving $275 for shampooing carpets at Town Hall and a sheriff’s substation. In both cases, the OSA noted the invoices lacked itemized details, there was no competitive price comparison conducted, and there was no evidence the board reviewed or approved either arrangement.
The former mayor received 16 of 18 expense reimbursement checks reviewed, totaling $13,392 out of $13,502 in total reimbursements issued during the review period, according to the report.
The OSA found that six reimbursements totaling $3,751 — all to Moore — lacked itemized receipts. One of the reimbursements was for $2,500 for a 2009 Chevrolet truck the former mayor said she purchased through Facebook Marketplace for the Public Works department. No purchase requisition, order or informal quotes were obtained as required by the town’s Purchasing Policy, and no approval documentation was found in board meeting minute.
Five mileage reimbursement payments totaling $496 to Moore between June 2023 and December 2023 had no supporting documentation.
Additionally, one mileage reimbursement of $242.56 was calculated incorrectly. The OSA determined the former mayor traveled 151.6 miles, which at the 2024 IRS rate of $0.67 per mile should have totaled $101.57 — an overpayment of $140.99.
The OSA also reviewed 21 vendor payments totaling $141,808 and found that town officials did not consistently follow the town’s purchasing policy.
Across all purchase thresholds, which included transactions from under $2,500 up to those in the $30,000 to $89,999 range, payments were frequently made without required requisitions, purchase orders or competitive quotes. An example in the report cites a single paving contract in July 2023 totaling $84,368.
In total, the OSA found $131,393 in purchased services lacked the required requisitions or purchase orders.
During its investigation, the OSA reviewed 187 of 859 Purchase Card (P-Card) transactions made between June 2023 and June 2025, covering $28,265 of the total $74,718 in spending.
Of the P-Card transactions reviewed, 54 of them totaling $5,725 did not have itemized receipts as required by the town’s P-Card Policy. Additionally, 83 purchases totaling $4,738 were made at fuel stations using a town P-Card, which the purchasing policy explicitly prohibits. The policy says fuel purchases are required to be made with fuel cards assigned to specific town vehicles.
The report’s background section notes that the former mayor, the finance director serving as of November 2025 and the former finance director all told the OSA they were unaware the town had a Purchasing Policy.
During the review period, $9,400 in employee bonuses were paid outside the town’s payroll system, and employment taxes were not withheld. The OSA found that 25 of 39 bonus payments, totaling $3,000, lacked documented board approval.
The town also had 65 outstanding checks totaling $63,957 in its accounting system, some dating as far back as January 2012, that should have been remitted to the state treasurer as unclaimed funds. As of November 2025, the issue was still unresolved despite being flagged in a prior audit.
The town’s most recent completed financial statement audit covered the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, and was submitted almost two years late. Additionally, audits for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 had not been submitted as of November 2025.
In a response signed by current Mayor Gil Wheeler, the town agreed with the findings and outlined actions it would take, with most targeted for completion by May 2026. The town said it has hired a finance officer and engaged a third-party CPA to address outstanding financial statement audits, with full audit completion set for June 2027.
Three allegations reviewed by the OSA involving payments to the former mayor’s nonprofits, a trailer purchase at an auction and utility payments via Cash App were found to be unsubstantiated. However, the OSA noted the utility trailer purchased in 2022 by Moore, for which she was reimbursed $3,536 by the town, remains registered in the name of the prior owner rather than the town.
