Swansea Town Council‘s plan to hire a town administrator is “on hold” for the present, according to Council Member Michael Luongo.

The prime candidate for the part-time position, former Richland County Administrator Tony McDonald, has withdrawn his consideration of the post after several meetings with council.

Luongo declined to comment on the reason for his withdrawal.

“He bowed out,” the council member said.

Mayor Viola McDaniel did not respond to a request from the Chronicle for comment on the search for an administrator.

Hiring an administrator would be a major step for the town that has never had an administrator in the past.

Council is also seeking a new auditor after months of turmoil about town finances.

It all started almost a year ago when council members Luongo and Doris Simmons said they could not get an explanation of why $3 million was unaccounted for in the town’s budget. The problem was revealed in an audit conducted in 2021.

When town officials would not provide the answers they were seeking, Luongo and Simmons, along with town resident Barrett Black filed a lawsuit in August of 2022 demanding answers from Mayor Viola McDaniel, Town Clerk Margaret Harvey and Auditor John Brown.

The now-former town auditor has maintained that he did offer an explanation for the unaccounted-for assets, telling council at the August 2022 meeting where he tendered his resignation that the amounts for fixed assets were omitted in the accounting system for fiscal year 2021, hence the $3 million in unaccounted for assets when comparing the numbers against the previous year.

Brown filed a counter lawsuit against the council members, alleging he was libeled and defamed. Harvey also filed a counter lawsuit contending she was unfairly cited.

On March 21, Mayor Viola McDaniel filed her own counter lawsuit, saying she was libeled by the suits.

Luongo said council is currently in talks with a candidate for the auditor post. He said the applicant would be good for the position.