The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday was marked by frustration, hurt feelings, and defensiveness as town officials publicly addressed a state audit that flagged deep financial mismanagement, drained reserves, and questionable staff raises.
Mayor Jessie Bellflowers opened the discussion by acknowledging the public’s anger and confusion.
“There has not been one day, not one, since this report has been released that I haven’t had someone—many someones—call me, text me about this report,” he said. “How did we get here?”
Bellflowers said he valued the audit and had personally thanked State Auditor Dave Boliek.
Throughout his remarks, Bellflowers’ tone shifted between frustration, defensiveness, and visible emotion. At one point he apologized for getting “up there,” adding, “I’m an old soldier.”
He said that he and the board were never contacted by the state auditor’s office to hear from them before the report was released.
“Because the state auditor needed to know, just like I’m telling every citizen in Hope Mills to include the press, how did we get here?”
He added that when he did reach out to ask for a meeting, he was told no. “That one hurt,” he said. “That one still hurts.”
Addressing the audit’s finding that the town had depleted its reserves, Bellflowers defended the spending. He explained that the $1.2 million pulled from the general reserve was not the result of “malice” or “embezzlement”, only “mismanagement,” and the town having to address unplanned law enforcement costs. The funds went to start a School Resource Officer (SRO) program after the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office ended its program, purchasing police vehicles, and acquiring a server for police data operations.
“It wasn’t like we went in there to drain the town reserves,” he said. “What’s the price tag on the safety of our schools?” Bellflowers asked. The board was placed between a rock and a hard place, forcing them to make “hard, difficult decisions” about public safety, the mayor said.
Bellflowers also defended the board’s tax rate decisions, saying the town lost expected revenue when a planned $500,000 cell tower sale fell through. “If it had gone through, we’d have been much lower,” he said of the tax rate.
Town Manager Pushes Back on Audit Findings
Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin delivered a lengthy defense of his actions, particularly regarding raises the audit said were given without required documentation.
He said the town’s pay study remains 75% unfunded and that staff are “overworked, underpaid.”
“Could things have been done differently? Sure,” he said.
The raises, he stated, were given to seven department heads and amounted to a “minuscule” sum on their check.”
McLaughlin’s defense also included taking aim at CityView’s coverage of the audit.
“I do push back on the CityView article because I’m not sure what numbers they’re looking at, but we’re not going to be depleted by 2028,” he said.
CityView reported on the audit finding, which said if Hope Mills “continued spending at the levels seen in FY 2025—whether through the proposed FY 2026 budget or future budget amendments—could result in the depletion of the Town’s current cash reserves as early as FY 2028.”
McLaughlin took particular issue with reporting that stated he failed to utilize a required Personnel Action Form (PAF) featuring two signatures and written justification.
“Because what that article says is that I didn’t comply with the personnel policy,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin claimed it was “impossible” for him to violate that policy because he was the one who created the form three years ago, noting that the town’s broader personnel policies had not been updated in 15 years.
However, the statements CityView reported are taken directly from the audit, which stated that McLaughlin’s response was “contrary to the Administration and Maintenance section of the Town’s Pay Plan policy.”
The audit also included that “town policy requires a PAF form with two approvals and a justification prior to any increase of an employee’s salary.”
Two of the State Auditor’s recommendations referred to these policies:
- The town manager should adhere to all personnel policies established by the town.
- All PAFs completed solely by the town manager should include a second approval and review by the human resources director prior to processing to ensure that salary increases are in line with established Town policy.
At one point during McLaughlin’s response on Monday, Commissioner Grilley Mitchell said, “CityView is garbage.”
CityView reached out to McLaughlin and Mitchell for clarification on their comments criticizing CityView for its reporting on the state audit. Neither has responded.
McLaughlin also announced that a new policy will be introduced on May 18 that revokes the town manager’s authority to grant staff salary increases.
Mayor: ‘We’re Going to Learn from It’
Bellflowers acknowledged that the audit substantiated some allegations and revealed outdated or unapproved policies. The audit reviewed 23 allegations and substantiated two. Three other allegations were partially substantiated, while 18 were unsubstantiated.
“Were there things done wrong? Could things have been done better? You better believe it,” he said. “We accept the seriousness of these matters.”
He emphasized that the town had not been “reckless in years prior to this,” and said the board had already taken steps to tighten controls.
“This one will be tight,” he said of the upcoming budget. “We’re going to get it right.”
He told residents that part of the audit’s findings stemmed from policies so old—and in some cases never formally approved—that current leadership did not know they existed.
Bellflowers said the town had been operating with “outdated policies,” some of which he had never seen “either on the Board of Commissioners or sitting in this seat as mayor.”
He added that neither he nor long‑serving commissioners were aware of the gaps. “We didn’t know that they weren’t approved by a former board at all. We had no knowledge at all that all of these policies were not approved,” the mayor said.
Bellflowers framed the issue as a structural failure rather than intentional wrongdoing, describing the policies as “working documents” that had simply never been updated.
“Just like the United States Constitution is a working document, every document in a town policy is a working [document]. We knew they had to be fixed. We knew that—no doubt, no question about that,” he said.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com or 910-988-8045.
Did you find this story useful or interesting? It was made possible by donations from readers like you to the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so CityView can bring you more news and information like this.
