Former Summerfield staff prepare defamation lawsuit against town council, mayor says

Former staff members of the town of Summerfield are preparing a defamation lawsuit against local officials, escalating tensions over an ongoing audit of municipal data.

In February, the town council approved a $10,000 contract for an auditor to review IT system records, citing concerns about potential data mismanagement. The audit, initially expected to take four weeks, remains incomplete, and officials said more funding is needed. 

At the meeting, Mayor Tim Sessoms criticized the ongoing scrutiny of former employees. 

“We should stop looking back, we should stop looking at this never ending witch hunt," he said. "I do not think fraud will be found. I do not think embezzlement will be found. I do not think espionage will be found."

During a tense exchange with a council member, Sessoms disclosed that former staffers are preparing a defamation case against the town.

The controversy follows the mass resignation of Summerfield’s staff last year after the town council declined to renew Town Manager Scott Whitaker’s contract. 

In January, former state auditor Beth Wood presented a report alleging financial mismanagement and that months worth of municipal data from Whitaker’s tenure was missing. 

But several residents at Tuesday's meeting, including Leon Stokes, questioned the intention behind the presentation of Wood's report.

"A competent approach would have been to privately assess the report and if warranted, commission a thorough independent investigation and publicize only proven wrongdoing," Stokes said.

Council member Jonathan Hamilton said officials are trying to do their due diligence.

"No one's trying to get anybody, but what we are trying to do is make sure that we have data integrity, things that the courts have told the former administration are necessary for us to do," he said.

On Tuesday, the council approved an additional $5,000 to finish the audit.