Immigration audit plan readied by county

Random audits of businesses operating in unincorporated Beaufort County are set to start Jan. 1, and the county is moving quickly to hire a private company and new director to carry out inspections aimed at discouraging the hiring of illegal immigrants.

County administrator Gary Kubic announced at a meeting this week that his office had sent letters to 62 companies inviting them to bid on a contract for the program, which also seeks to make sure businesses pay their fair share in business license fees.

The auditing company will inspect employers' I-9 forms, according to Kubic. Federal law requires employees fill out such forms, which include their name and Social Security number.

"I want to make sure employment verification is done by a private company ... to insulate the county being accused of being biased" against any race or class of workers, Kubic said.

Because inspecting businesses' I-9 forms has not been attempted before by other localities, Kubic said the county would not know the price tag until bids are submitted along with cost estimates.

"There's no model to work from," Kubic said. "I can't say I'm tailoring this after (another) city or county."

The county's deadline for receiving bids is Nov. 29.

The county also will finish up interviews next week for a newly-created position to oversee the program. Kubic said he is looking for an individual with a strong accounting and financial background to be the county's new business licensing director.

At past meetings, Kubic has said finding unlicensed businesses and scrutinizing businesses' gross receipts -- tasks the new director would handle-- are key to the program and could generate revenue for the county.

The fee a business pays for a county license is based on its gross revenue. In 2006, the county collected nearly $1,644,000 in such fees.

The new business licensing director will be aided in his goal of finding unlicensed businesses by Sun City Hilton Head.

Sun City, the largest gated community in unincorporated Beaufort County, offered to share with the county its list of businesses that cross through its gates.

When the program starts in January, the new business licensing director could check Sun City's list to see if there are construction or repair companies that have entered the community but are not licensed to do business in the county.

"I'm hoping all of the gated communities across the county follow suit," Kubic said. "It's impossible for us to police the entire county, so we're working with homeowner's associations."