News Flash

                                                

Former Tax Administrator, Kelvin Byrd, resigned his employment effective October 23, 2019 prior to the end of his then current appointment. After his resignation, irregularities were discovered that required further review. Rowan County immediately retained the law firm of Parker Poe to conduct an independent internal investigation of the irregularities. Consistent with the recommendations of that internal investigation and on behalf of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, legal counsel requested by letter dated January 10, 2020 that the District Attorney and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) open an investigation into the irregularities. The District Attorney then forwarded the information to the NC Conference of District Attorneys financial division which has overseen the investigation by NC SBI. 

                   

Rowan County cooperated fully with NC SBI requests for documents, records and interviews. Rowan County strives to maintain transparency, however, all of the records related to this investigation are subject to the NCGS 132-1.4 investigative record exception to public records and thus will not be provided. Rowan County appreciates that this exception protects both the constitutional rights of any person facing criminal charges as well as the ability of NC SBI and prosecutors to present and prosecute their case. 

                   

The citizens of Rowan County should know that the Board of Commissioners has addressed these tax irregularities in a prompt and professional manner. Previously, the position of Tax Assessor and Tax Collector were combined into one position as the Tax Administrator. After these irregularities were discovered the Board of Commissioners eliminated the Administrator position and divested the authority into two separate positions, both of whom report to the Board of Commissioners. This created a firewall of solid checks and balances that reduced centralized authority, therefore providing safeguards against future irregularities. Furthermore, Rowan County has recovered all tax amounts in question related to the irregularities.