Within the past two weeks, Moody’s Investors Service withdrew its A-level credit rating for Dorchester County. This came a little over a month after the rating agency placed the county on review over a lack of financial information, because Dorchester had not submitted their annual financial reports and audits in three years. This stunning revelation was made at the start of the month by Jim Brady of WHCP Radio in Cambridge.

Brady, an experienced journalist, told the Dorchester Star’s Maggie Trovato he had received a tip that the county’s audits were “messed up.” After some inquiries, he connected with Eugene Lauer of Dorchester Citizens for Better Government, who had used the Public Information Act to acquire an auditor’s report to the county council about major problems with various government departments that had led to faulty records and delayed filings. Brady then confronted the council and other county officials.

This led directly to a reluctant public statement by Council President Lenny Pfeffer at the Sept. 5 session, in which he admitted that Dorchester had neglected to meet the deadlines for submission of the FY 2021 and 2022 audits.

“That failure to submit ultimately falls upon the shoulders of the County Council, both past and present,” he said.

But he then placed blame on other factors. The initiation of Covid-19 safeguards for staff and citizens had resulted in a backlog of duties. There had been a loss of Finance Office personnel and county managers, vacancies that are difficult to fill due to the county’s limited tax base and available payroll funding. Departing staff members with knowledge of the new financial software had failed to train replacement personnel. And a January 2020 hack had forced the destruction of 24 data servers, requiring that an incomplete store of paper documents be re-entered by hand.

Interim County Manager Jeff Powell referred to the collection of challenges as a “comedy of errors” and cited the toxic culture and harsh working environment of the county government as additional reasons for the debacle. Indeed, a lack of oversight and accountability, along with unexplained personnel terminations, have caused there to be low morale among the remaining government employees.

Pfeffer insisted the county commissioners who carried over to the current council were unaware of the 2020 auditor’s report. However, Powell said that government insiders actually knew about the financial issues but were “fed a line” that fixes were being effected.

Moody’s withdrawal of the county’s credit rating could result in high interest rates if Dorchester needs to issue bonds. Additionally, grants and aid might cease. But the agency’s action was not a surprise.

“We knew it was coming,” said Powell. “We just couldn’t get (the 2021 audit) done in time.”

That audit is now finished and posted on the county website. Pfeffer reported by email that all available staff has been dedicated to completing Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, along with consultants, contractors and a second independent auditing firm to supplement UHY. This has proven a costly endeavor.

"We have provided Moody's with as much information as we have available at this time," said Pfeffer. "We will continue to work with them until they are satisfied."

According to Powell, the 2022 audit will be done in January, and they've started working on 2023. There are still software issues, though they have made a lot of headway by engaging with the vendor. There are also still staffing problems, but Powell is optimistic that they are "making progress" with the work culture.

To help with that, the county contracted with the National Government Finance Officers Association for a detailed study of the Finance Department. It is hoped that Dorchester County will develop best practices moving forward.