Richland Sheriff’s Department investigating Irmo Okra Strut finances

Richland County deputies are investigating payments to vendors and accounting of ticket sales at the financially troubled Okra Strut, Sheriff Leon Lott confirmed Thursday.

“We’re doing an in-depth investigation,” Lott said in an interview, adding about $30,000 is in question so far.

The problems may be largely inadvertent, said Kirk Luther, chairman of the town-appointed commission that puts on the nationally-recognized festival.

Alleged overpayments and other missteps apparently stem from “sloppy bookkeeping” and an antiquated method of tallying tickets sold for concessions that won’t be used again, he said.

But Lott indicated the inquiry under way is checking misuse of money.

“If it wasn’t a criminal investigation,” Lott said, “we wouldn’t do it.”

The revelation of the probe comes after some town leaders quietly asked for it two months ago to settle conflict over red ink plaguing the festival. The Okra Strut is nearly broke and may need an increased subsidy from taxpayers to contnue.

“I had no choice but to do this,” Mayor Hardy King said.

The $30,000 in question is nearly a third of what was spent to hold the festival last fall, officials say.

By King’s count, nearly $19,000 appears to have been overpaid to merchants who sold food and other items. Other major losses came from failure to collect booth fees from some vendors and parade participants, he said.

“It’s one thing to be off a little bit,” he said. “It’s another thing to be off a lot.”

The 42-year-old festival has been unprofitable since 2007 through a mix of overspending and unrealistic revenue forecasts, town officials say.

King and some Town Council members are troubled by what they say are too many unanswered questions about persistent red ink.

Festival leaders have said unexpected costs occurred as the gathering settled into its new home at Irmo Community Park last fall and won’t be repeated.

King wants town staff to have total control over festival finances, a step he says will prevent overspending.

“It doesn’t need to be profitable, but its money needs to be handled properly,” Councilwoman Kathy Condom said.

Other town leaders say the complaints are overblown, with any errors easily correctable.

“It’s baloney,” Councilman Barry Walker said. “It’s all part of a conspiracy by Mayor King trying to destroy the Okra Strut.”

The fuss over finances isn’t stopping preparation for the next gathering in September. The two-day event is drawing a crowd of about 16,000 in recent years, town officials say.

“We’re struggling to keep this thing afloat,” King said. “We’ll hold it some way.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2015 at 12:56 PM with the headline " Richland Sheriff’s Department investigating Irmo Okra Strut finances."