The Johnston County town of Benson is facing a budget shortfall of about $578,000. That’s according to a report prepared by former State Auditor Beth Wood, which she presented to town commissioners at a special meeting on July 28.
Commissioners hired Wood to examine spending. Among her findings: checks written to vendors but not mailed totaling $234,000 and $920,000 of open invoices. Other checks have been mailed but not cashed.
“And then I just put in some additional information of what’s happening in early August,” she told the meeting. Those items include payments for employee benefits and retirement, which will put Benson another $123,000 in the hole…