WATCH: Richland County gives go-ahead to take state to court

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO) – Richland County Council voted Tuesday night, to send the on-going dispute between council and the S.C. Department of Revenue to the county’s attorney, opening the door to a possible legal battle.

“We therefore authorize the Richland County legal representative, to take whatever steps are necessary, including litigation, to protect that transportation penny,” Councilman Bill Malinowski said.

DOR completed a months-long audit of the county’s Penny Tax Program in December, raising serious concern about the management of the money. Since then, council has been working to alleviate some of the issues, but has yet to resolve the matter of using penny tax revenue to pay for the management of the program. DOR said the money is only to be used for capital costs for specific program projects. As a result, DOR froze money allocated to the county last week.

Council has determined it will have to come up with more than $3 million dollars annually to pay for management without using penny money.

Richland Co. Council Chairman Torrey Rush said he knows a potential lawsuit will cost taxpayers money, but it’s worth it to alleviate some of the impending strain an extra $3.2 million dollars will put on the council’s budget.

“That’s concerning to us, so we’re just trying to protect taxpayers’ dollars,” he said. Rush also stressed that council is unsure of the department’s ability to impose these guidelines, and whether they’re really the best practices for Richland Penny.

Before voting on the issue, council met for about 30 minutes behind closed door in an executive session. Councilman Seth Rose was the only member on council to vote no to sending the matter to legal.

DOR sent ABC Columbia a statement, in reaction to council’s vote, reading, “It is unfortunate that rather than comply with state law, Council is choosing to expend additional tax dollars to preserve a structure containing millions of dollars of potential fraud, waste and abuse.”

Council also voted to make sure that there is money set aside, to pay the bond this fall to protect the county’s credit rating as it takes-on DOR.