PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Pender County is at risk of losing up to $140,000 in state sales tax revenue distributions after missing the deadline to submit its annual financial audit to the state.
State law requires local governments in North Carolina to submit a financial audit within a year of the fiscal year ending. The deadline to submit the Fiscal Year 2025 audit was Tuesday, June 30. Not submitting the audit on time can lead to withheld portions of sales tax distributions.
A contract between Pender County and Hickory-based auditor Martin Starnes & Associates said the audit would be submitted to the Local Government Commission, which oversees the submitted audits, by Dec. 31, 2025. A request for comment from the audit firm wasn’t returned Tuesday…