SALISBURY — Long-time former Rowan County deputy and police officer and former Senior Auditor William “Andy” Downs has been named the director of auditing and fleet management for Rowan County.

“I’m excited for the new opportunity with Rowan County and looking forward to seeing what the future holds,” said Downs.

Downs has worked for the county since 2008, beginning with his time as a part-time deputy in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. Downs ended his service with the sheriff’s office in 2022 as a lieutenant when he became a full-time auditor with the county government.

“I couldn’t exactly work for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and then turn around and audit them,” said Downs.

Downs’ position mainly entails internally auditing the county’s different departments, he said, constantly evaluating the processes and results of money movement, vehicle assessments and other internal functions of the departments to determine if everything is being done by the book. He also works with external auditors by supervising and managing the county’s work with them.

Downs began his career in internal auditing at Wachovia in 2003 when he was hired as a loss prevention officer. In 2005, he was promoted to assistant vice president over all aspects of deposit fraud. In 2008, he was promoted to vice president, financial crimes manager responsible for investigating check fraud claims. 

From 2012 to joining the county in 2022, he served as vice president, responsible for external fraud investigations, payment card fraud detection, conduct risk, ethics oversight and surveillance monitoring.

The other half of his new position, fleet management, will consist of monitoring the vehicles for all county departments. Downs said that includes servicing and improving the vehicles along with projecting their life cycles. The department then creates and monitors service plans and replacement cycles for all of the county’s vehicles.

The director of auditing and fleet management is an entirely new position, said County Manager Aaron Church. The fleet management portion follows the retirement of Don Bringle, who held the roles of facilities management director, parks and recreation director and fleet management director. Nick Aceves was named the new parks and recreation director while facilities management was placed under the purview of Director of Engineering and Environmental Services Craig Powers.

A story about the other changes will be forthcoming.

Prior to beginning his career in internal auditing, Downs served as a firefighter and EMT for the city of Concord, as a deputy with the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office and as an officer for the city of Kannapolis. He is currently an active reserve police officer with the town of China Grove. Downs also teaches multiple EMT and Law Enforcement courses.

Outside of his work in the public sphere, Downs is the pastor of Royal Oaks Baptist Church in Kannapolis. In his work as a pastor, Downs has been involved with programs such as the Sandhills Adult and Teen Challenge Program, a faith-based and long-term program that address addiction and other related, and the Landis Police Department’s “Shop with a Cop” program.

Downs holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal science and a second bachelor’s degree in pastoral studies. He is also a certified fraud examiner, certified fraud specialist, certified financial crimes investigator and a certified forensic interviewer. 

Downs also serves on the board of directors of the Better Business Bureau in Charlotte and surrounding counties.

Downs currently resides in Concord with his wife, Carla, and their three children. In his free time, Downs enjoys fishing and spending time with his family.