A News13 Investigation went through the Darlington County Coroner’s budget for the last ten years and found tens of thousands of tax dollars look like it’s going towards “rent and leases.” But we dug deeper, and found that money is really paying for other items that should have never been labeled under that line-item. 


Darlington Coroner Todd Hardee has office space at the county building, but it’s been used as storage space for the county tax collector for several years.

County Council Chairman Bobby Hudson tells News13 the coroner has worked from an outside office space for more than a decade.  That outside office is at the Kistler-Hardee Funeral Home, about four blocks away from the county building.

“It worked these many years to have him where he’s at,” Hudson says.

Todd Hardee is the county coroner as well as a funeral home owner. He sets up shop for both at his funeral home.

Hardee’s budget shows he collects $600 in “rentals and leases” every month, and Hardee received $27,155 for “rental and leases” since it was added to his annual budget in 2011. But News13 found he’s receiving rent for an office he owns.


The funeral home’s deed, obtained by News13, shows Hardee has owned the building since 2001.

Hardee says the rent allocated in his budget actually isn’t for rent. Hardee provided News13 with a supplement to his budget, showing his rent payments go towards a part-time employee’s salary, electricity for morgue refrigerators and printing supplies.

News13 wanted to know how things like a part time salary and printing costs could fall under “rental and leases.” Hardee referred us to the county finance director.

News13 emailed, called and went to finance director Perry Strickland’s office to set up an interview, but he declined.

Darlington County Council tells News13 they didn’t know that $600 a month was actually paying for things other than rent and lease space until we brought it to their attention.

“We want people in Darlington County to know what we’re spending on, how we’re spending it,” says Hudson, who is among seven others who vote on and approve all county budgets. Hudson says some of those payments never should have fallen under rentals and leases in the coroner’s budget. Now, he says, the county is making changes.

“We needed to change it,” Hudson says. “And put it into appropriate line item and that what it shows transparency.”