North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell is responding to comments made by Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham regarding the states years-long involvement in addressing the towns ongoing financial troubles. Pilot Mountains town manager and finance officer, Michael Boaz, was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 18 after concerns were raised over the state of the towns finances. He was shifted to unpaid leave on Oct. 29.Cockerham announced at a Board of Commissioners meeting last Thursday Boaz spent town funds without the knowledge or approval of the board. He added that Boaz had presented the board with inaccurate information that had impacted town leaders “ability to make informed decisions.”Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking hereCockerham said officials discovered funds for the Pilot Mountain Rescue Squad, Tourism Board and “Love the Library Tea” fundraiser have been impacted by the misappropriation of funds.Cockerham mentioned the states financial institutions in his remarks to the board, saying, Beyond this, we rely on external safeguards, including oversight from the Local Government Commission, the state auditor and the annual third-party audit, to ensure transparency. However, these institutions failed to alert us to financial discrepancies and, thus far, have offered only limited guidance.Wednesday night, Folwell released a statement pushing back, saying, This statement is factually inaccurate. In fact, LGC staff have been meeting with the town representatives for the last eight years, expressing concerns about Pilot Mountains financial health and fiscal management.Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.According to Folwell, state staff have met and communicated with Pilot Mountain leaders on several occasions since 2016 to assist the town in addressing its financial instability.His statement continued, It is not the function of the LGC to investigate and solve the problems of governmental units, but to identify issues from their audited financial statements and make them aware so that they may take appropriate action to solve or mitigate the negative findings. To act as if the commissioners and mayor were unaware that there were fiscal problems is disingenuous at best.Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscastsIn an interview with WXII 12 News, Folwell said the state will remain available to Pilot Mountain for advice. Our door, our mind and our heart have always been open, not just to Pilot Mountain, but any of the other 1,200 entities that report to the Local Government Commission as it relates to giving advice, Folwell said. But as you can see from our statement, the advice that we’ve been giving Pilot Mountain is going on almost a decade old, and at every turn, and this is all well documented, at every turn, they made the choice.He said it is up to Pilot Mountain leaders to heed the states warnings. If they’re not going to take that advice and make the tough decisions necessary to put Pilot Mountain back on a good financial footing, so to speak, then that advice is pretty much wasted, Folwell said. Folwell said the impact the towns finances could have on public works, roads and safety is particularly worrisome. For low and fixed-income people to have their taxes not go toward the benefit and not to be a part of a town that is financially solvent; that’s a big deal, Folwell said. Cockerham declined WXII 12s request for an interview but responded to Folwells statement with one of his own Wednesday, saying, I regret that my comments were heard as an attack on the LGC and the Treasurer’s office. My first duty to the people of Pilot Mountain is transparency, and I only wanted to let them know that we had pursued these avenues for assistance.Cockerham continued saying the board had taken appropriate action when it received notices from the LGC. He reiterated it was Boaz who misused the towns funds, saying, …misappropriation of funds by a staff member is not a function of the board’s legislative duties. To be clear, the budget we adopted was not adhered to, and that is the reason that the town manager was placed on leave.Cockerham continued, To date, there has been no investigation or formal recommendation made by any of the aforementioned agencies. We reached out to these offices through our legal counsel on day one and have been ready and willing to fully cooperate. Because there was no direct assistance or recommendation, I brought in our own financial analyst, former auditor (and member of the LGC during many of the years in question) Beth Wood.Folwells initial statement says it is not the function of the LGC to investigate or step in on behalf of local government entities. The Board of Commissioners will meet again on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Pilot Mountain Rescue & EMS building. Cockerham said during the meeting Wood will present her findings to the board. He says the report will also be made public following the meeting. NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |Trending Stories