A yearlong push to have Russell County’s financial records audited amid questions of possible irregularities is back on the agenda for the county board of supervisors’ Monday meeting.
In May 2025, Supervisors Nathan Kiser and Tara Dye began calling for a forensic audit, which would examine financial records for possible evidence of fraud or misconduct.
Among the matters they want investigated are the county public service authority’s billing and fee collection practices and the dissolution of the Dante Volunteer Fire Department.
But County Administrator Lonzo Lester and several other supervisors assert that there has been no wrongdoing and that some people in the community are stirring up rumors without any evidence.
The topic on the agenda will be a report on whether the Virginia Office of the Inspector General would conduct an audit at no cost to the county. The alternative favored by Kiser and Dye is to have a Maryland accounting firm conduct a forensic audit at a cost of more than $200,000.
Kiser first called for a forensic audit in May 2025 as supervisors discussed setting a real estate tax rate for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The rate had been 63 cents per $100 of assessed value prior to a property reassessment. In April 2025, supervisors were told that following the reassessment, real estate values overall were 40% higher than those established in 2018, and that the tax rate would need to drop to 47.4 cents to keep property owners’ tax bills roughly the same. At that time, county administrators said the rate would need to be 60.8 cents to pay for all funding requests in the county budget.
At the May 2025 meeting, William Harrison of the county fire chiefs’ association said it was rumored that the county intended to cut funding for fire departments. Kiser said that someone in county government had made a list of proposed funding cuts that the board had not discussed. He moved to order a forensic audit, saying it would restore citizens’ trust in government, but the motion failed.
According to Lester, there was a list simply showing supervisors their options for spending cuts, not recommendations for cuts. He said that when federal- and state-mandated local government funding requirements are removed from the equation, supervisors control only 5%-7% of county spending.
Lester called rumors of financial impropriety simply “fake news on social media” and said he would gladly “show anyone the books.”
A motion from Supervisor Steve Breeding to set the real estate tax rate at 57.9 cents initially failed. But the board approved a motion from Kiser to set the same tax rate if a forensic audit was approved.
In July 2025, supervisors named Lester, Breeding and Kiser to an audit firm search committee. That September, the board agreed to send out a request for proposals. As of December, the audit committee interviewed firms. In February, the committee recommended hiring Maryland-based UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic Inc.
UHY’s proposal, which would cost $217,600, would include reviewing county payments, internal financial controls, documentation of the depletion of county fund balances and compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. Further, the proposed agreement’s scope would include a review of agreements between the county and the public service authority pertaining to trash disposal fee collections since 2006, along with an examination of the 2024 suspension and 2025 closing of the Dante Fire Department.
Some citizens have repeatedly raised questions and concerns about both the PSA’s billing practices and the circumstances under which the fire department was shut down. One action during the May 2025 meeting was to authorize the county administration to sell the former fire department property, with Kiser voting no.
During the March 30 supervisors meeting, county attorney Tyler Starnes explained that another option would be to ask the state inspector general’s office to do an investigation. The office can look into alleged fraud, abuse and waste if an official allegation of wrongdoing has been made, he said.
Supervisor Lou Ann Wallace said some people on social media falsely claim that people in county government are “all embezzling or something.” Lester noted that litigation following the Dante Fire Department’s shutdown had been resolved and the matter was “cleared up.”
He was referring to a November 2025 circuit court settlement of litigation challenging the shutdown. The settlement included an agreement between plaintiffs and defendants to have the litigation “non-suited,” which means that the person who filed the suit agreed to withdraw it.
At that time, county officials said in a statement that the Dante department’s incorporation had been terminated by the State Corporation Commission in 2015, but the department had continued operating without corporate status until the county ordered it to cease operations in 2024.
As for the PSA issues, Lester said that the Virginia State Police investigated allegations of financial improprieties and the result was that “every dollar is accounted for.”
Lester cautioned supervisors that an inspector general’s forensic audit would be “a forensic audit on steroids” and investigators would question “everyone,” including people making allegations on social media.
The board agreed to have county officials contact the inspector general’s office and inquire about how to initiate an investigation. Kiser and Dye voted against it.
Starnes will report on the results of the inquiry when the board meets on Monday.
Supervisors will convene at 6 p.m. in the board chambers at the county governmental center, 139 Highland Drive, Lebanon.
You can find meeting documents here.
