Summerfield’s long-running political war is still going strong – and former Summerfield Finance Officer Dee Hall says it’s long past time for town taxpayers to ask why.

Hall and former Summerfield Town Manager Scott Whitaker have been at the center of a bitter public fight that grew out of the town’s larger battle over growth, development and control of Town Hall. In 2024, the Town Council parted ways with Whitaker, and the town’s entire staff resigned in response.

Then, in January 2025, former State Auditor Beth Wood appeared before the Summerfield Town Council and laid out a series of allegations involving town records, vacation payouts, credit card charges and other financial and personnel-related concerns. The Town Council later pursued legal action against Hall and Whitaker.

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter and, after consulting with the District Attorney’s Office, announced that it would not pursue any charges.

However, the Town of Summerfield is still moving forward with civil actions against Hall and Whitaker.

Hall, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer and is now battling that in addition to these allegations, said the entire controversy could have been cleared up quickly if town leaders had simply reached out and asked questions.

“One phone call could have solved everything,” Hall said. “They never even asked.”

Hall said she and Whitaker offered assistance many times after leaving town employment.

“We said repeatedly that we would help them,” she said. “I’ve got all the texts saying, ‘Hey, let me know if I can help. Let me know if I can do anything to help.’”

Hall argued that many of the accusations against her and Whitaker were distorted or taken out of context.

“I’ve never said that I didn’t make any mistakes,” Hall said. “Human beings make mistakes. But I did not break any policies. I did not break any laws. I did not overpay anybody.”

One allegation centered around a hotel reservation connected to a town conference. Hall said records showed the reservation had been made before the employee in question resigned.

“They’ve already given me all the information to prove my innocence on all those things,” Hall said. “She had not resigned when she made a reservation to go to a clerk’s conference.”

Hall also said financial records can be misleading when they’re presented without proper context.  She said Wood spent very little time looking over town records before coming out with a list of ungrounded charges.

“Numbers don’t lie, but they do have to be interpreted correctly,” Hall said.

She also maintained that town officials should have investigated concerns privately before publicly airing accusations that she says damaged reputations and lives.

Hall said, “If I’m an embezzler and I’ve committed fraud and racketeering, then man, I’m stupid. I didn’t even get a penny.”

Hall said the town is seeking repayment tied to Whitaker’s severance pay, along with legal fees and punitive damages.

She also said she and Whitaker have spent heavily defending themselves in court.

“I will tell you that we’ve spent $208,000 defending ourselves against the allegations,” Hall said.

In Hall’s view, the litigation has mainly benefited attorneys.

“The only people that are winning are the attorneys,” she added.

Former Summerfield Mayor BJ Barnes, who served while Hall and Whitaker worked for the town, said Hall performed exceptionally as finance officer.

“She was stellar,” Barnes said. “She kept the town finances in tip-top shape. She got excellent reviews from the auditor every time.”

Barnes said those evaluations came from outside professionals.

“That was from independent auditors,” he said. “She got a perfect score on everything that she did.”

Barnes also defended Whitaker’s handling of the town government.

“Scott did everything he could to try to work with the folks who were there,” Barnes said. “But he also recognized that he had to follow the wishes of the council.”

Barnes said he believes town leaders have become too invested in the fight to back away from it now.

“I think the town’s going after them because they’ve dug themselves into a hole and they don’t know how to get out,” Barnes said of the town’s current leaders.

He added, “The long and short of it is, Scott, there is nothing there. They’ve asked the Sheriff’s Office and all God’s children to take a look at it and they can’t find anything, but yet they keep persisting on this.”

Barnes also said Hall has been forced to deal with the controversy while battling serious health issues.

“This is the woman that’s trying to beat cancer,” Barnes said. “This is the woman that didn’t need this stress in her life.”

He added, “She did a stellar job. She’s doing a stellar job for someone else now, and she is a very religious person. She’s never going to intentionally do anything that’s wrong.”

Hall said she believes resentment over the coordinated staff resignations helped fuel the ongoing conflict.

“I just think they’re mad that we quit,” Hall said. “We were allowed to quit.”

Hall also argued that council members crossed the line by attempting to insert themselves into town operations.

“They kept coming into Town Hall and trying to take over everything,” Hall said. “Summerfield is a manager-council form of government. It is not legal for the council to come in and take over operations.”

She added that she believes some town officials are still trying to justify decisions made during the controversy.

“I think they’re just on a desperate journey to prove that they were right to get rid of Scott and that the town was better off without good employees,” Hall told the Rhino Times.

Hall also said she and Whitaker have filed a defamation suit related to the allegations and public statements surrounding the controversy.

She stated further that the records she possesses are either personal records or public documents that any citizen could legally obtain.

“Hand to God, I do not have one thing that I am not legally allowed to have from the town,” Hall said. “Do I have some town records? Yes, I do. My W-2s are town records, so of course I have town records. But I don’t have anything that doesn’t belong to me and anything besides my W-2s that you can’t put in a public records request for and get.”

Hall said the dispute has created enormous emotional and financial strain.

But she said the most frustrating aspect is that she believes the situation never needed to escalate this far in the first place.

“It’s nothing that sitting down at the table and asking questions would not have solved,” Hall said. “You’ve got questions? Ask me.”

Hall and Whitaker both say that the town is spending a whole lot of taxpayer money to keep alive accusations they believe

About