(The Center Square) – Information systems auditing of a North Carolina city has led two City Council members to pay thousands to clear unpenalized late utility bills, and given clarity to what residents believed was double-billing.
Rocky Mount did not double bill utility customers, says the analysis from the office of the state auditor. The problems were also unrelated to ongoing financial stress the city has experienced.
“This new report details mistakes made by the city’s billing department that led to confusion regarding bills received by the public,” first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek said. “It also shines a light on Rocky Mount officials who had delinquent bills.”
Charles “Verb” Robinson had 30 accounts and more than $27,000 in unpaid bills. T.J. Walker had more than $3,000 in unpaid bills. Because the city paused late fees due to the billing issue late last year, neither was penalized. Each paid their respective bills after the city was sent a draft of the audit.
The audit noted “the fact that the City Council members with recurring unpaid balances continued to not post payment through April 2026, long after the event triggering the temporary pause occurred, suggests that they took advantage of this decision to further their own personal financial interests.”
Late in 2025, thousands of utility customers received two bills within a single month. City officials identified a significant gap in meter reading dates and billing dates, the audit said. Correcting the billing delays eliminated the gap and did not double bill customers. The audit said “the cause of the billing delays was unauthorized and undetected modifications to the city’s meter reading and billing schedules due to insufficient management, monitoring, and process controls.”
The audit recommends combining “utility meter reading and billing schedules, protect them from unauthorized modification, and engage with the billing system vendor to automate bill scheduling.”
“Rocky Mount continues to face financial and personnel issues that need to be addressed,” Boliek said. “The State Auditor’s Office will not stop providing much-needed transparency to the people of Rocky Mount, so that they can make informed, educated decisions on what’s best for their community.”
This review is unrelated to an audit released in March showed a 78% decline in the city’s cash and investment balance in two years tied to a lack of diligence in hiring a city manager and cycling through five directors of its Finance Department.
The audit found employee compensation up 27% between fiscal years 2023 and 2025; capital purchases up 153% in fiscal year 2024; and a 2% decline in city revenue during those years.
The capital purchases included $17.2 million for land to be used for a casino and entertainment complex; those never materialized. There was also an $11.2 million expenditure for redevelopment of Fire Station No. 2, nearly triple the original estimate; $6.8 million for a lump-sum vehicle fleet lease; and $6.6 million for equipment such as fire trucks and heavy machinery.
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