Administrator: Richland County addressing audit issues.

Richland County officials are taking action to address issues outlined in a S.C. Department of Revenue audit of the Transportation Penny Tax program, the county administrator said, but provided no further details.

"Richland County is continuing to review and present information to the S.C. Department of Revenue in an effort to resolve questions that have been raised concerning the penny program," according to a prepared statement from County Administrator Leonardo Brown.

Brown read a prepared statement at a news conference on Friday but did not take questions. A news release from Richland County said it is the county's general practice not to comment on pending litigation.

Results of the 2017 audit were released in February and questioned spending on some Penny Tax programs.

In March 2018, Richland County froze spending on projects involving the Small Local Business Enterprise program as well as money spent on two public relations firms and a mentor program. That move come after the S.C. Supreme Court agreed with SCDOR that a portion of Penny Tax money has been spent on projects not related to transportation.

"As the reported findings are preliminary in nature, we have no conclusory statements to make about the report at this time," Brown's...