County takes control of Emergency Management following dismal audit findings

County to hire consultant to help with future guidance
Jason Futch
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org

A sweeping forensic audit of the Suwannee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) revealed what county leaders called “significant structural failures,” “lost opportunities,” and evidence that could point to criminal financial activity within the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. The findings led the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, Dec. 3, to unanimously take back control of the EOC and to forward the audit to state lawmakers and law enforcement entities.

Following the vote, Interim County Administrator Jason Furry requested that the county hire a consultant to help reestablish the EOC as a standalone division. The SCSO now has 90 days to turn over all equipment, assets and funds associated with the EOC, while Suwannee County Fire Rescue (SCFR) prepares to assume temporary operating duties.

The audit — released publicly in a 110-page packet on Tuesday, Dec. 2 — was conducted by Cherry Bekaert Advisory, LLC, under the direction of the commissioners. It examined grant administration, financial controls, and interagency coordination from August 2023 through April 2025. The report paints a troubling picture of an emergency management system overwhelmed by staffing shortages, missed deadlines, withdrawn grant applications, and a breakdown in communication between the sheriff-operated EOC and county government.

Board Chairman Franklin White’s executive summary is included in the packet, expressing his “disappointment” with the findings and stating the “experiment” of allowing the sheriff’s office to operate the EOC was a “failure.” He read the statement aloud during the special meeting.

White wrote that Suwannee County had lost or was excluded from approximately $14 million in grants earmarked for the county. He also noted that the financial portion of the audit found the EOC and the SCSO “commingled funds, may be paying fictitious vendors, and appear to be paying fraudulent invoices out of a slush fund set up by the former emergency management director.” The audit found those concerns plausible due to the EOC operating without spending policies and with “little to no oversight.”

According to White, the information obtained could have criminal implications. He also wrote that the commissioners lacked the power to audit Sheriff Sam St. John due to him being an independently elected constitutional officer. As a result, the board plans to forward the audit to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the offices of Senator Corey Simon, Representative Jason Shoaf, and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia.

Staffing and Communication Failures
The audit noted the EOC’s minimal staffing—just a director and a deputy director—significantly contributing to its inability to meet grant requirements following Hurricanes Idalia, Debby and Helene, along with other emergencies.

Although contractors assisted with preparing grant applications, responsibility for timely and complete submissions remained with the EOC. Internal emails included in the audit showed repeated missed deadlines, extension requests, fragmented communication, and frustration from state reviewers.

“It is clear from the evidence provided that the EOC did not have the staff needed to handle the volume of disasters,” the report states. It also detailed a severe communication breakdown between the EOC, the City of Live Oak, the Town of Branford, and the county administrator. County officials told auditors they were excluded from discussions involving grant withdrawals, project planning, and communication with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). EOC staff, meanwhile, reported delays and unresponsiveness from county departments and municipal partners hindered data collection needed for grant applications.

$38 million in missed disaster grants
County Attorney Adam Morrison and White asked questions of the Cherry Bekaert auditors as the video played. When discussing the $14 million in missed grant opportunities, Morrison inquired whether these grants could have helped mitigate flooding in downtown Live Oak. Auditor Kathleen Kizior responded that they would have. Historically, downtown Live Oak has been vulnerable to flooding after intense storms and hurricanes, leading to washed-out storefronts and subsequent damage.

The audit also noted that the EOC missed a total of $38 million in opportunities from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Debby, including the $14 million previously mentioned. Grant applications for Idalia were eventually merged into those for Helene and Debby. Additionally, the EOC missed a potential $2.5 million grant in state funding for disaster expenses not covered by FEMA.
A separate $5 million Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant was provided to the county but never disbursed to the EOC.

Email Issues and RFIs
The audit also documented numerous Requests for Information (RFIs) where then-Director Chris Volz sent emails auditors described as “passive-aggressive.” In one exchange, after missing a pre-award deadline for a wind retrofit project, Volz told the consultant he had already answered the required questions. When another consultant said they never received the answers, Volz claimed there was a lack of communication.

“One of the continued issues we are having is that there isn’t any communication with your vendor and our contractor,” he wrote.

In another email regarding an engineering RFI, then-Deputy Director Heather Henderson-Scheu sent urgent emails to several individuals about the grant deadline, which fell the next day. City of Live Oak Public Works Director Jerald Lee and Volz engaged in “passive-aggressive” behavior in the email, with Lee stating the team should have received the request “further in advance, instead of the day before the deadline.” After Henderson-Scheu clarified that it had been sent weeks before, Volz responded to Lee, stating the EOC had a deadline and “the biggest part of this falls on you because you have the most projects.”

Financial irregularities, vendor issues and concerns over vehicles
Additional concerns addressed in the reports were travel expenses, for which the auditors found $80,408.04 in travel fees without sufficient documentation to determine whether recorded per diem transactions matched on credit card statements. A specific trip noted was a flight from South Dakota to Tallahassee, for which no additional expenses were reported. The auditors recommended that such trips be evaluated for compliance with the SCSO’s purchasing policy and that EOC staff follow the county’s established travel policies.

Another red flag involved roughly $400,000 in expenses over three months with a vendor identified as “Vendor #5,” along with allegations of a conflict of interest between Volz and the vendor’s owner. According to the summary, individuals were directed to go to the vendor to have their vehicles repaired with FEMA funds. After reviewing the vendor listing, the auditors were unable to find entries related to the vendor. According to Henderson-Scheu, invoicing was done with this vendor with FDEM.

The SCSO provided auditors with two invoices totaling $4,762.50 and $36,145.96. The auditors noted that one of the invoices charged $1,350 for a mechanic on standby, as well as a 5% admin fee and a 5% shop supplies fee. In addition, only 10% of the invoice was for parts, and the remaining 90% was for labor. According to the report, the invoice lacked details stating which vehicle was worked on. The second invoice included an inspection report and did not include any of the fees from the first invoice. It also had different formatting from the first invoice. The report further stated the total of the second invoice ($4,762.50) did not match the line items in the invoice ($5,212.50). The auditors suggested that the county seek out further invoices from FDEM related to the vendor. Furthermore, although one vehicle — a 2020 Chevy Tahoe — was identified as a police unit, it was not marked in the SCSO fixed asset listing.

Unaccounted FEMA trailers
The report noted that, per Volz, approximately 40 FEMA trailers were supposed to be provided to the county following the Idalia recovery efforts. However, according to county officials, they were unaware of where the trailers were located.

Following their investigation, auditors located 14 of the 40 trailers, which were stored at the SCSO staging area. The remaining trailers — with an estimated value of $625,000 — remain unaccounted for.

Public comments and calls for accountability
Following the presentation, commissioners opened the floor to public comment, allowing various residents to express their ideas and frustrations concerning the EOC.

Live Oak Police Department Captain Jason Rountree said the board should form a subcommittee of directors over EOC, which would provide oversight and purpose. Dr. Tracie Daniels with Suwannee PAWS agreed with Rountree, expressing her desire to be part of such a group. She added that, if such a group were to be formed, it should be composed only of Emergency Support Function-qualified individuals.

Mike Carson, a former resident, encouraged all agencies in Suwannee County to improve their communication.

“I got several calls from Washington, D.C., telling us, ‘We’re going to go ahead and start removing assistance from the county because everyone has water down there,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Hold on, we don’t all have water down here.’” He added that most residents in Dowling Park had water wells, which require electricity, limiting access to water.

Belinda Zech followed Carson, emphasizing Henderson-Scheu's contributions as the current emergency management director. “I just want to point out the fact that all of the things we’re worried about, all of the fraud and potential misuse, came under a director who is not here anymore,” she said. “When Heather came in during Idalia [as the deputy director], we started seeing Facebook posts about where to get help, what to do. We started seeing more community engagement and more ideas about what we could do as community members to prepare ourselves, the rest of the community, and help the elderly. All of these things were not happening before Heather.”

She also said that Henderson-Scheu, despite working under Volz until his resignation in June, was not the same person. Zech requested that, instead of “throwing away” trained emergency management employees and leaving the EOC at a “huge disadvantage,” the county should keep them in their positions.

Michael Meador, who has been involved with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) since 2017, expressed concerns about the future of the team and the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) team. “There have been literally thousands of valuable community service hours dedicated to the citizens of Suwannee County during emergencies and participation in community events,” he said.

Criticisms surrounding the SCSO’s handling of the EOC also began to arise. First to share his frustrations was Wayne Hannaka of the Concerned Citizens of North Florida, who said he initially did not want to speak. However, after hearing about the amount of funds lost “as a county because of a few people,” he felt compelled to.

“I’m sickened,” he said. “And it’s time for [the county] to take back the EOC, clean it up, and get done what needs to get done. Everyone here has great ideas, but the first step is to take them back.”

Following Hannaka came Bo Hancock, who offered the most scathing criticism of Sheriff St. John, immediately calling for his resignation. After noting the arrest of former SCSO Finance Director Megan Corbin and reading the statement St. John provided regarding it, Hancock declared the sheriff had failed to keep his staff accountable. “If he’s a leader, the leader leads. He has failed. He has demonstrated his incompetence,” he said. “He cannot manage people.”

Hancock doubled down on his attack, accusing St. John of allowing Volz to stand before the board, with then-chairman Travis Land and former County Administrator Greg Scott absent, and “rant and rave.”

“[Sheriff St. John] never got up to address him or stop him. He did not speak at that meeting until I turned around and asked him to grow a pair and get up and talk for himself, and he finally did,” said Hancock.

Moses Clepper was equally frustrated with the SCSO and addressed some of the audit's findings. He emphasized that Phase Two of the audit, which would delve further into the results, needed to proceed.

“The chairman stated that he 'was not interested in finding who is at fault for the management debacle', but we, the citizens of North Central Florida, not only want those bad actors identified, we want them held accountable for their wrongdoings and not just them making a simple statement that they are responsible,” Clepper said. “Nothing’s done. Just more of the same. It continues. That is not acceptable. Hadn’t been, isn’t, won’t be…the sheriff’s office needs to be fully investigated and audited for fraud,” he said.

Not all comments were scathing, though. Lee McGauley praised Henderson-Scheu, Deputy Director Gia Kelly, Sheriff St. John and the SCSO for their work. However, he questioned whether Chief Dan Miller was qualified and prepared to take on EOC operations. He further requested that the EOC be its own entity if the county takes it over.

Following a brief intermission, the board heard from Sheriff St. John, who expressed “immense pride” in the SCSO and its “unwavering commitment to safeguard the county.”

“Time and again, our deputies, support staff, and partners have demonstrated courage, professionalism and compassion in the face of hurricanes, floods and other emergencies,” he said. Sheriff St. John also shared his intent to respect the board’s wishes and assist with a smooth transition of the EOC if the county chose to do so.

He went on to address some of the findings, including pest control charges found on company credit cards allegedly linked to Volz’s residence. St. John claimed the charges were due to Volz listing the EOC as his residence while he was transitioning to Suwannee County from Baker County, where he was previously employed as EOC director.

Sheriff St. John also said Volz received canceled checks, which the sheriff’s office plans to review to ensure they were not fraudulent. Another concern the sheriff had was with Volz using an asphalt management group for personal use, purchasing it with a Local Agency Program grant set up in QuickBooks. He stated the different numbers on the invoice were due to them being marked in other accounts, and claimed one of the charges came from a county match account.

“If we’re getting any fraud in the sheriff’s office, we want to take care of and address that,” Sheriff St. John said. He also claimed the number of multiple vehicle maintenance charges was due to the service of approximately 100 SCSO vehicles, not just EOC vehicles.

Following Sheriff St. John’s comments, White commended his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition of the EOC back to the county. “I appreciate your thoughts and your expressing that, if this board decides to take the EOC back under its role, it would be a smooth transition. It would be all good, and we need it to be that way,” White said. “We need everybody to be on the same page. Fire department, you guys, everybody has a hand in it. So I was glad to hear that.”

After Sheriff St. John returned to his seat, White read the executive summary that was included in the agenda packet, citing the board’s plan to terminate the contract with the SCSO, retake the EOC, and forward the audit’s findings to the state.

District 4 Commissioner Leo Mobley was the first to speak following the reading. In his comments, he asked about Miller’s qualifications to lead the EOC temporarily once control is transferred to the county.

Addressing the board, Chief Miller read state statutes regarding the position of emergency management director. “What it says is you must have at least 50 hours of training or a Bachelor's Degree, which I have,” he said. “The director must also have four years of verifiable experience in comprehensive emergency management services with direct supervisory responsibilities for responding to at least one emergency or disaster, of which I have responded to many.”

Chief Miller continued to list additional qualifications, including 150 hours of training through FEMA and FDEM, of which he said he had 85. He further stated directors had until June 30, 2026, to complete those hours. “As we stated, this is an interim process. I would hope we would have a new or permanent team in place within 90 days or 180 days, but well before the June 30, 2026, deadline,” he said.

Following his comments, District 3 Commissioner Travis Land agreed with concerns McGauley raised during public comments about the SCFR leading the EOC. He said he wanted to avoid any further conflicts by having the division under another department.

“No offense to [Chief Miller], but I would like to see it be its own standalone at some point,” said Land. He further added that he did not see an avenue for the county to take back the EOC and wanted to avoid “fingerpointing” and placing individuals in department leadership roles without others going through a process. “If the cream rises to the top in the process, and whoever those people are, they get the position, the process produced them,” said Land. “So to say, ‘Nah, we want this one,’ I think we’re dictators, and we’re not going to be respected because we pick and choose when we follow the process.”

Following further comments, District 1 Commissioner Don Hale stated he agreed with Land’s position, adding the board needed to bring in an outside agency that does emergency management work on a regular basis to help establish permanent EOC leadership. Chief Miller agreed with the board’s recommendation to keep SCFR temporarily over the EOC, believing it should be its “own separate thing.”

Zech, who made a public comment, returned to the podium to ask what the transition of the EOC would look like once the board took control of it. Land answered that the Florida Association of Counties would vet the applicants, a process that would not be quick.

White followed, stating that while Sheriff St. John would still have control of the EOC for the next 90 days after the meeting, the county would then advertise for the position and encourage Henderson-Scheu to apply, noting she would still have to go through the process like any other applicant.

Henderson-Scheu, joined by Deputy Director Gia Kelly, then spoke about having to “rewrite the wrongs” that were done by her predecessor since July. “There were things that were done that I was not privy to, and I will stand here and take ownership of that,” she said. “There are things I wish I could have seen. But at the end of the day, I was not the director. My number one priority for this county has been the community and the citizens of this county.”

Henderson-Scheu further stated that, should the county retake control of the EOC, she wanted to be part of the solution. She also praised the work she and Kelly have done, and noted their high qualifications for effectively operating the EOC.

“I would just ask you to remember that this is not only between EOC and the sheriff and the county, but this is our livelihood, and this is how we pay for our life, and this is how we feed our family,” said Henderson-Scheu.

Following her comments, White immediately asked for a motion to vote to terminate the agreement with the SCSO and allow the county to take back control of the EOC. Land motioned, while Mobley seconded. The board then voted unanimously to terminate the deal.

The board then followed up with making motions to send Sheriff St. John a letter informing him that the SCSO had 90 days to provide the county with all EOC assets, forward the audit findings to state leaders and law enforcement, and give permission to Cherry Bekaert to turn over raw data of their findings to any law enforcement agency or state official should a second phase of the audit proceed. Each motion passed unanimously.

Following the votes, Interim Administrator Furry addressed the EOC transition process, stating that SCFR would assume temporary oversight of the EOC following relinquishment by the sheriff’s office. He added that the county would work “very quickly” to hire a consultant and provide assistance during the transition. He also encouraged Henderson-Scheu and Kelly to apply.
“[Henderson-Scheu and Kelly] have been great to work with since they have been in the position with county staff,” said Furry.

He also stated that once the director was hired, the county would work with them to put together their standalone department and budget.

It has yet to be determined if the second phase of the audit will occur or if a criminal investigation will begin based on the findings of the Cherry-Bekaert audit. The results of the audit can be read at www.suwanneecountyfl.gov/wp-content/uploads/December-3-2025-Packet-1.pdf.