The state of South Carolina has temporarily lifted the spending restrictions it had placed this spring on the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council. The council is now allowed to get state funds again.
But state officials made clear it was only because of concerns for citizens facing dangerously high temperatures during the current heat wave.
The EOC provides various services to low income people, including help paying their utility bills.
In March, a state audit revealed that the EOC violated a number of state spending rules. The state placed the EOC on reimbursement status, which meant the agency had to get pre-approval from the state for all of its expenditures.
The state Office of Economic Opportunity, which funds the EOC, notified the agency's executive director Thursday that reimbursement status would be lifted, though the agency would remain on high risk status. The OEO's letter said removal of the spending restrictions posed risks to the state due to the EOC's internal weaknesses, but "we have no choice but to do so to ensure citizens of the counties receive the assistance they need."
EOC Executive Director Beth Fryar tells NewsChannel 15 that 42 laid-off EOC workers will be back on the job and the agency would be able to resume serving clients on Monday.
