The Rhino’s Scott Yost digs into the suspension of Guilford County Finance Director Brenda Jones Fox:

According to sources, Guilford County Manager David McNeill’s decision to put Fox on administrative leave is largely the result of a complaint from one of Fox’s employees in the Finance Department after that employee was evaluated……One source said the evaluation resulted in a dispute between Fox and the employee and said the employee had subsequently accused Fox of some sort of harrassment.

An outside consultant was hired to look into the matter and Fox was put on administrative leave.

….One source said the report from the outside consultant didn’t evoke a lot fo confidence from some who read it because, while the report pointed to concerns about Fox’s actions, it also contained spellign errors and seemed poorly written. Several commissioners said this week they hadn’t seen the report, but one commissioners said former County Manager Roger Cotten does have a copy. Cotten retired from Guilford County about four years ago, but some say he still has influence on at least a few of the current commissioners.

Does this sound eerily familiar, or what? Head of a governmental department is accused of mistreating employees, is placed on administrative leave, an outside consultant produces a flawed report that ends up in strange hands, and elected officials are in the dark.

But here’s the really eerie part: Fox’s fate ultimately rests in the hands David McNeill, who would do well to look at his counterpart over at City Hall in order to learn the best way not to handle this situation. The county finance director isn’t exactly the police chief, but managing the money’s pretty damn important, too.