top of page
Search

“Audit in Name Only”: How a Press Release Became County Policy — and Why That Matters

  • Sep 6, 2025
  • 6 min read

Updated: Sep 23, 2025

A former New Castle County Council President’s case for facts, law, and real oversight in the reassessment crisis—and the day a talking point outran the public record.



I’m Karen Hartley-Nagle. For eight years, I served as President of New Castle County Council. I’ve chaired heated hearings, pushed for sunshine when others preferred shade, and read more audit memos than anyone should have to. Today I’m writing—because words matter, dates matter, and the public record matters.


And on August 28, 2025, something happened that cut against all three.


On that day, County Executive Marcus Henry issued a statement telling residents that the County Auditor, Robert “Bob” Wasserbach, was already “in the process of gathering information and reviewing the extensive materials related to the mass appraisal conducted by Tyler Technologies.”


Within 24 hours, that message ricocheted through local coverage, hardening into “the auditor is conducting a review”—a tidy talking point that sounded like oversight and felt like closure. But here’s the hard truth: there was no publicly posted authorization, no defined scope, and no contemporaneous Audit Committee approval on the record to back up that claim—not on August 28, 2025, and not when reporters repeated it the next day.


Below, I lay out the timeline, the law, and the meeting record so you can judge for yourself.


The Claim vs. the Record

What the statement said

“County Auditor Robert Wasserbach and his staff are in the process of gathering information and reviewing the extensive materials related to the mass appraisal conducted by Tyler Technologies.” —


How the press carried it

  • Aug. 27, 2025: Delaware Public Media reported Council failed to approve a resolution asking the auditor to review the reassessment—yet also wrote the auditor “reviews reassessment process.” The article framed a review as underway even as Council declined to request one.

  • Aug. 29, 2025: WHYY reported that “Henry said in a statement Thursday” (Aug. 28) the auditor and staff were gathering information and reviewing materials. The impression: a review was live.

  • Aug. 28, 2025: Delaware LIVE likewise told readers the auditor was reviewing reassessment materials.


What the county calendar shows


The Audit Committee—the body that must, by law, meet regularly with the Auditor and consult on audit schedules and progress—did not post any agenda or minutes in August 2025 authorizing a reassessment review or defining its scope. The committee’s August 27, 2025, agenda includes only a “Presentation and Discussion on Reassessment,” not an approval of a scoped special examination.


Earlier committee records tell a similar story of gaps without clear action:

  • May 10, 2024: Agenda posted; adoption of 11/28/23 minutes; no Tyler reassessment review authorization listed.

  • April 10, 2025: Agenda posted; routine items and a Hope Center memo; again, no publicly scoped reassessment review.

  • August 27, 2025: As noted, only a “presentation and discussion” item—no voted-through scope.


Bottom line: 

The Executive’s August 28 statement created the appearance of an active, authorized audit step. The committee record did not show it. That’s not oversight; that’s optics. And residents deserved the difference.


What the Law Requires (and Why the Gaps Matter)


Delaware law isn’t coy about the Audit Committee’s role. Title 9, § 1404 requires the committee to “meet at least on a quarterly basis” to consult with the County Auditor on the audit schedule, progress, follow-ups, and any special needs.


When a countywide reassessment explodes into controversy—thousands of bills, thousands of appeals, penalties, liens—“quarterly” isn’t a suggestion. It’s a floor. And it’s the legal channel for setting the scope of work residents are promised.


That’s why a press release claiming an active review, without a parallel, posted, scoped action by the Audit Committee, is more than a communications flourish—it’s a breach of process that erodes public trust.


The Video Record: The Auditor Dismissed Concerns, Then Reality Caught Up


This is not the first time an official line minimized legitimate issues raised in public view. On April 23, 2024, during a New Castle County Council Executive Committee meeting, I raised unresolved single-audit and Hope Center issues—concerns I’d been pressing since 2021. The exchange speaks for itself. Watch my remarks beginning near the 29.45-minute / second mark: Video: Apr. 23, 2024 Executive Committee



Receipts You Can Click


What a Real Fix Looks Like

This isn’t complicated:

  1. Post the scope. If the County Auditor is “in the process” of anything, the Audit Committee should publicly vote to adopt a written scope, timeline, and deliverables—and post them before the talking points fly.

  2. Meet the law. Quarterly means quarterly. The public should be able to see that cadence—and see reassessment oversight as a standing agenda item until the crisis is resolved.

  3. Use independent eyes. When public confidence is broken, bring in outside auditors with no prior role in the work, and post their terms of engagement. (That’s what many jurisdictions do after first-of-a-generation reassessments.)

  4. Publish a timeline and dashboard. Appeals backlog, corrective actions, fiscal impacts, and equity metrics—updated monthly, not seasonally.


Do this, and we rebuild trust.

Don’t, and we repeat 2025.


Timeline at a Glance

  • Apr. 23, 2024: Executive Committee meeting; I raise audit and Hope Center issues on the record (see video embed above).

  • Sept. 13, 2024: County files suit against Hersha Hospitality over Hope Center management failures.

  • Aug. 3–27, 2025: News coverage builds; Council fails to approve a resolution formally requesting an audit; articles nonetheless describe an auditor “review.”

  • Aug. 27, 2025: Audit Committee meets; agenda lists only a “Presentation and Discussion on Reassessment.

  • Aug. 28, 2025: Executive’s press release states the Auditor is already reviewing.

  • Aug. 29, 2025: WHYY reports the statement and repeats the review claim.


To Residents: You Deserved the Whole Truth


When people are staring down higher bills, liens and penalties, “process” is not a bureaucratic nicety—it’s the guardrail that keeps power honest. Announcing a review without the posted scope, votes, and cadence the law demands is not transparency; it is PR standing in for policy.


If we want durable solutions, we have to put facts back in the driver’s seat.


Source Links & APA Citations

Executive & County Sources

Delaware Law



Independent / News Coverage


Context from My Site


Additional Hope Center Context


Featured Links


Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet
Add a rating

Support The Truthline Network
​Publisher: Nexus Innovation Group, LLC d/b/a KarenHartleyNagle.com & The Truthline Network
​
Your support keeps independent reporting free of spin and free of paywalls. It funds research, records & data pulls, investigations, writing & editing, radio and live production, social distribution, and public education & outreach.
​
Pay by card (secure via Wix). Prefer apps? Cash App: $KarenHartleyNagle · Venmo: @KHartleyNagle
​
Make it monthly for the biggest impact.
​
Compliance & Disclosure
Contributions support journalism and public-interest advocacy.
Not tax-deductible. Not a campaign contribution.
Not affiliated with any candidate, committee, or PAC.
Processed by Nexus Innovation Group, LLC; a receipt will be emailed.
Questions: Karen@KarenHartleyNagle.com
​By contributing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Frequency

One time

Monthly

Amount

$25

$50

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

Other

GET THE TRUTHLINE BRIEFING

Where the record speaks—and spin goes silent.

​​​

Once a month brief, the receipts, and

one action you can take—no noise, just the facts.​

 

Follow via RSS:

​​​

​

 

 

By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy.​

  • RSS

Publisher & Editor

Karen Hartley-Nagle

Advocacy. Accountability. Action.

 

Bellefonte. Wilmington, DE 19809​​

​karen@karenhartleynagle.com

(302) 344-7828

  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • Whatsapp
  • Youtube
  • Spotify
Documents, receipts, and investigative files symbolizing fearless oversight and accountability in Delaware governance

​Copyright © 2025 Published by Nexus Innovation Group, LLC d/b/a KarenHartleyNagle.com &

The Truthline Network. All rights reserved.

Attribution required for republication.​

​​

​​​​​​​Funding & Independence:

The Truthline Network is reader-supported journalism and public-interest advocacy. 

​​

​

​

Contributions are not tax-deductible,

are not campaign contributions, and are not affiliated with any candidate,

committee, or PAC.​

​​

​​

​

​​| Reports | Features | Analyses|

| Series | Briefings | Special Editions |

| Field Notes | Radio | Live | Feed |

| Shows | Shop | Tipline |

bottom of page