Jason Futch
reporter2.riverbendnews@gmail.com
The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners came together for an emergency meeting early Tuesday morning, April 22, at the Judicial Annex. The purpose of the meeting was to announce the initiation of an audit of the Suwannee County Emergency Management Office, handled by Cherry Bekaert, LLC. The audit came after accusations were made by Emergency Management Director Chris Volz, accusing County Administrator Greg Scott of allegedly forfeiting over $7 million in grants. Both Volz and Scott were absent from the meeting; Scott was recovering from open heart surgery, while Volz's whereabouts were not known. Though the county historically operated the Emergency Management Office, the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) has been operating the agency since 2018. Volz, who previously worked with the Baker County Sheriff's Office, assumed the role of director for the agency in February 2021. Since that time, the agency has overseen some significant events, including three major hurricanes that rocked the community. At the meeting, Volz's handling of the agency was not in question. What really concerned the county commissioners was the alleged accusations Volz levied against Scott at the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, April 15. According to the resolution proposed by the board, Volz informed the board at the regularly scheduled meeting that at least $7 million of available grant funds had been irrevocably lost or forfeited due to failure to timely or properly apply for said funds. Additionally, Volz informed the board that he was pursuing tens of millions of dollars worth of additional grant funds for projects that were unknown to the commissioners. Volz stated that the projects that were sought were in jeopardy of failing to obtain grant funds, casting blame on Scott for allegedly sabotaging his plans for the last 17 months. At the meeting, Scott was unable to defend himself due to recovering from heart surgery. However, District 3 Commissioner Travis Land read from an email that Scott sent to the board, vehemently denying any wrongdoing or sabotage, and resents the accusations Volz levied on him. "I want to go on record to strongly deny working against emergency management and take strong offense to the slanderous statements made in the most public way," Scott's email said. "I have spent over 36 years serving the citizens of Suwannee County, always putting what is best for the citizens above any personal gain." Scott further endorsed the proposal for the audit. Land opened the meeting with a word of caution that, despite the outcome of the meeting, he was there to get to the bottom of the issues and requested transparency from all parties involved. "I am not here to make friends, and I am not here to make enemies," Land said. "I am here for transparency and truth; what happened, where it went wrong and how it can be better." Land also noted that two things happen in an audit: either nothing is wrong, or something is wrong, and the involved agency should figure out how to correct the issues. Land further stated that he had set up a meeting with Sheriff Sam St. John eight weeks prior to the meeting, and invited emergency management staff and county employees to address concerns that had been brought up. Despite having the date set up for the meeting, the SCSO allegedly canceled the meeting days before it was to take place, stating there was no reason for the meeting. After going into further details about the situation and reading Scott's statement, as well as the resolution in its entirety, Land firmly asked the board to consider supporting the audit and vote in favor of it. The estimated cost of the audit is expected to be $108,000. Following Land's comments, the board opened the floor to comments. The first to approach the dias was Kin Weaver, who relayed his childhood friendship with Scott and spoke fondly of his reputation. "Mr. Greg Scott is beyond reproach," Weaver said. "Not only is he a personal friend, I have watched him professionally…beyond reproach." After Weaver, Moses Clepper spoke next. Clepper said that he felt that if the Emergency Management Office was to be audited, so should the rest of the county offices. He also suggested that the state Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) committee should audit the county instead of spending $108,000 on one agency alone. Land responded that DOGE has been contacted and would be speaking with them. Following Clepper's comments, SCSO Chief Deputy Buddy Williams came forward to defend Volz's work with the agency. "As we are all aware, in the last two and a half years, we have taken some mass destruction," Williams said. "The response from the Division of Emergency Management and Director Volz has been phenomenal." Williams also discussed prior audits that were done on the Emergency Management Office, which he said were done 10 times, and explained how the monies the agency receives are evaluated quarterly. He also called for unity and better communication. "I'm not laying the blame on anybody," he said. "What I'm saying is that we as a community need to be working together regardless of who we are pointing the finger at. But what happens is, we get caught up in distractions, which takes away our traction." He also said that the finger-pointing at the event was not right. Bo Hancock also spoke, calling for the sheriff to speak up on the issue instead of Williams. "When is he going to unbuckle his damn belt and come up here and talk to you and address you," Hancock said. "He is in charge of emergency management, he runs it!" He also mentioned petitioning a recall election for the sheriff position and called the previous board meeting a "dadgum ambush." He turned to St. John, saying, "I'm gonna stand up here and look at the sheriff and say, 'Sheriff, get your butt up here and defend yourself,' or not. Your choice." Shortly after, St. John came forward to explain the situation, sharing that discrepancies had been identified. "I just had Chris come up here, not to stir this up, and this was not my intention whatsoever," he said. "Since he's in charge of the EOC (Emergency Operations Center), he wanted to make sure to let you know the progress, but it went sideways." St. John said that the audit being proposed is the result of a breakdown of communication. "More of an audit, it would be more of a communication and interest issue that will happen…everyone needs to take a step back, take a breath and educate ourselves and get it all worked out." St. John also said that he welcomed an audit. Following a few other individuals who spoke at the meeting, the last person to speak was Emergency Management Deputy Director Heather Henderson, who spoke about the importance of the work emergency management does and said that they remain busy all the time. She said they will comply with the audit, which will not affect emergency preparedness throughout the 2025 hurricane season, and that the agency has nothing to hide. She also emphasized that the agency only has two employees–her and Volz. "Just remember, we are a shop of two, and we have had five natural disasters open in 18 to 20 months," Henderson said. "That's a lot of documentation, a lot of paperwork, a lot of grants." Following Henderson's presentation, the commissioners discussed the resolution. "I think this is the right thing to do," District 5 Commissioner Franklin White said. "I don't know where the issue lies, but I think this will get to the bottom of what the issue is." He also stressed the importance of clarity and how to move forward. District 2 Commissioner Maurice Perkins also echoed White's sentiments. Following the board's discussion, White made a motion to approve the audit with Cherry Bekaert, with Perkins seconding. The approval to conduct the audit was unanimous. Following the vote, a motion was made by District 1 Commissioner Don Hale to approve the resolution outlining the audit, with Perkins seconding. The resolution was passed unanimously. "These aren't fun times," Land said before concluding the meeting. "We're not after any individual specifically, we are just after the truth and transparency. That's what we are searching for here, and I hope that's what we will find."