Beaufort County treasurer, administrator: Auditor’s lawsuit unfortunate and unnecessary

Both Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls and county administrator Gary Kubic said Tuesday they believe a dispute with another top county official could have been resolved without legal action.

Beaufort County Auditor Jim Beckert filed a lawsuit late last week against Walls and the county, claiming Walls’ recent receipt of a copy of his personnel file compromised his family’s privacy by releasing some of their personal information.

The suit claims Walls, who received the personnel file after submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to county administrators, got private information such his family’s social security numbers, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers.

Kubic said while private family information in the file was redacted, the information may still be visible on electronic copies of the documents.

“If there was a breach (in the redaction process), we need to correct that,” he said, “But on the other hand, that doesn’t mean that the entire file” should have been kept from someone seeking access to it under FOIA, which allows the public to request documents from public bodies.

Beckert’s concern about the release of family members’ information was “something that probably could have been addressed without litigation,” Kubic said. “We will do what the court suggests we do, but I would hope we could reach an accord without bothering the courts.”

Walls said the suit, which requests that the court issue a restraining order barring her from giving the records to any third party and asks that she share a list of each person who has possession of the document, “is unfortunate.”

“He did not have to pursue a lawsuit and resort to such extreme measures,” she said.

Walls said she is not currently pursuing any other FOIA requests, and added that she sought Beckert’s file “as a part of an evaluation process that my office is going through.”

“It’s a public document and I thought it was pertinent,” she said of the file.

Walls said she believes Beckert’s suit has little to do with the presence of private family information in the file.

“The real intent is to prevent me from sharing information” about Beckert’s employment history, she said.

Beckert, represented in the suit by attorney Kimberly Smith, declined to comment on the specifics of the case Tuesday, saying, “I have to protect my family, and I have to yield to the advice of my attorney who is looking out for the interests of all of us.”

Conflict between county administration, the treasurer’s office and the auditor’s office has escalated in recent months as the sides have fought over control of powers related to property tax billing and collection in the county.

At the heart of the issue is a disagreement over the autonomy of the respective offices and what role each should play in setting deadlines, printing and mailing tax bills, and collecting revenue.

Beckert pushed for his office — which is traditionally in charge of calculating how much tax property owners owe — to take over the printing of bills and implement a strict mailing deadline.

Once the bills are mailed, Walls would be required by law to begin collecting tax payments.

Walls’ FOIA request was filed in early August — several weeks before the rift first played out in public at meeting of the Beaufort County Council’s Finance Committee.

Last month, County Council moved to give Kubic the power to authorize the printing of the tax bills only after both Walls and Beckert have met and agreed on the content of the bills.

“Anytime you have to produce a product that involves multiple departments, its my expectation that we should be able sit down together and avoid focusing on things that may slow the process down,” Kubic said. “...It’s my hope that this problem will never occur again.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 6:07 AM with the headline "Beaufort County treasurer, administrator: Auditor’s lawsuit unfortunate and unnecessary."