{"id":4888,"date":"2026-07-18T15:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4888"},"modified":"2026-07-18T15:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:34:47","slug":"key-takeaways-from-nc-auditors-report-on-cary-spending-and-towns-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4888","title":{"rendered":"Key takeaways from NC auditor\u2019s report on Cary spending and town\u2019s response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven months after Cary town manager Sean Stegall resigned<\/a> amid allegations of financial misconduct, the N.C. State Auditor\u2019s office released its roughly 2,600-page report on the town\u2019s spending Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Here are the candidates running in this fall\u2019s Wake County school board election<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are key takeaways from the report released by State Auditor Dave Boliek, the possibility of criminal charges and Cary\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

The News & Observer called Stegall after the release of the state auditor\u2019s report.<\/a><\/p>\n

He did not respond and has not responded to multiple phone calls and emails from N&O reporters over the past several months.<\/p>\n

When Stegall resigned, the town agreed to pay him $194,832 in severance \u2014 equal to six months of his salary \u2014 on the conditions that he return any town property and give access to text messages \u201cassociated with town business,\u201d according to the auditor\u2019s report.<\/p>\n

Stegall refused to comply with these conditions and has not received severance as a result, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Thursday a criminal investigation into Stegall\u2019s spending is ongoing<\/a>. She and Cary Police Chief Terry Sult asked state investigators to launch an investigation last fall into whether town money was misspent.<\/p>\n

Boliek said in January that an initial forensic analysis indicated \u201cpotential criminal activity\u201d in Stegall\u2019s spending, The N&O previously reported<\/a>. On Thursday, Boliek said his office excluded some of its findings from the report to \u201cpreserve the integrity\u201d of the criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

In its response to the report, the town said Stegall\u2019s \u201cprivate-sector thinking\u201d was positive for the town but acknowledged that he had made \u201cquestionable decisions\u201d toward the end of his tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work of the (State Auditor\u2019s office) and others has helped us identify gaps in oversight, process and culture,\u201d according to the report. \u201cAnd while these concerns are largely rooted in the former town manager\u2019s actions, we recognize that as an organization, we have the responsibility to understand what happened, identify how we can strengthen the systems that failed to prevent it, and ensure our practices reflect the standards our employees and community expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Thursday night news conference, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Interim Town Manager Russ Overton and Cary council members fielded questions from media. Many said they didn\u2019t know the extent of Stegall\u2019s expenses and pledged to scrutinize future spending and be more transparent with the public.<\/p>\n

They cited 13 recommendations from the state auditor and another 21 from an external investigation from law firm Womble Bond Dickinson.<\/p>\n

Town officials generally acknowledged the audit\u2019s findings of excessive spending and committed to more transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n

A council member disagreed with the suggestion Cary has a \u201cculture of extravagant spending\u201d<\/b> within town staff.<\/p>\n

Read more New federal housing law aims to improve affordability. Will it help the Triangle?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that what we had was pockets of poor decisions and poor money management that we need to address,\u201d council member Carissa Kohn-Johnson said. \u201cBut I would stand by the fact that our staff works diligently to deliver the best product, the best services possible, and to do that at the most reasonable cost they can without compromising safety or equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor and two other council members defended the car stipend.<\/b> Stegall approved $802 a month, or nearly $10,000 per year, for the mayor and town council members to use for car expenses, according to the state auditor\u2019s report. Boliek pointed to the stipend as an example of excessive town spending during his press conference Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

At the Cary news conference Thursday night, when The N&O asked how unusual a car stipend was for town council members, Weinbrecht defended the stipend as a redress for low council salaries and said towns and cities \u201cpay councils in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kohn-Johnson said the car stipend was \u201cnot unreasonable\u201d since council members work part-time and would not earn enough money to live in Cary if they worked as full-time council members.<\/p>\n

Council member Sarika Bansal said she spoke with Boliek, who told her he doesn\u2019t mind the car allowance as long as the town council is transparent about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think that\u2019s fair,\u201d Bansal said. \u201cI think if this council wants to keep that allowance, and people know about this, and they\u2019re ready to pay for this, then so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a follow-up phone call Friday, she clarified that she is neutral on the stipend policy itself but feels the process for adopting policies like that should be open and transparent and require a public decision.<\/p>\n

The town disputed findings of fund balance policy violations.<\/b> Just weeks before he resigned, Stegall told the town council at a meeting on Nov. 20, 2025, that the town never violated its own fund balance policy. A fund balance \u201coperates like an \u2018emergency savings\u2019 account\u201d to be used for emergencies like natural disasters.<\/p>\n

Cary has required its fund balance to equal one-third of its budget since 2020. The state auditor found, however, that the town dipped below its 33.33% threshold in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. It came back in line with the threshold in the 2025 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

In its written response to the report, the town acknowledged a fund balance policy violation in 2023 but said the balance fell below the threshold by \u201ca relatively small amount.\u201d It denied the alleged 2024 policy violation, blaming differences in how the town and the state auditor\u2019s office calculate compliance.<\/p>\n

The town was more concerned, it wrote, that Stegall told council members \u201cwith full knowledge that the policy had been broken\u201d that Cary had never fallen below its fund balance threshold.<\/p>\n

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com<\/u><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Charlotte, Raleigh communities rally to support family of late swimmer Jack Roney<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 2:13 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NC State Auditor\u2019s 2,595-page report outlines excessive P\u2011card use, a bullying culture, and gaps in oversight in Cary under town manager Sean Stegall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nKey takeaways from NC auditor\u2019s report on Cary spending and town\u2019s response - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4888\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Key takeaways from NC auditor\u2019s report on Cary spending and town\u2019s response - 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