Did you know that the Edgar County Sheriff Department missed the October deadline to pay their bills?
Look, we’ve all been late on a bill a time or two, myself included. But we’re not talking just one or two bills, but more than twenty. This month, they missed the filing deadline for ALL their bills!
Here’s how it’s supposed to work. Each department submits all of their invoices with “claims” for each, to the County Clerk in a timely fashion.
The County Clerk’s office sends an email reminder on the morning of the final day to turn them in. This date is also a week before the County Board meeting.
At that point, the Clerk’s office prepares the claims for presentation to the County Board, which then approves payment at the monthly meeting. Once approved, the County Treasurer prepares and mails out checks.
But this month, the ECSD claims were not turned in on time. As a consequence, they weren’t presented to the County Board for approval.
Now the bills can’t be paid without going through another more laborious process, called “Demand” payments. Other County officials have to go through additional work to get the bills paid!
This is an unnecessary problem, for which the Sheriff is responsible. Invoices and Claims should be submitted to the Clerk’s office on a weekly basis so they don’t run up against the hard deadline.
The Sheriff should also ensure that other duties are performed on time. I’ve had local attorneys tell me that their paper services aren’t getting delivered. Some have even gotten “lost.”
You may remember from an earlier article that ECSD has said they don’t keep vehicle maintenance records. They just wait for deputies to tell them when their vehicle needs repair.
These are policy and procedure problems. It also shows a lack of training and oversight.
I’ll be a working Sheriff that spends a great deal of time on patrol. But I’ll also make sure that the basic administrative tasks are completed correctly, and in a timely fashion.
Sincerely,
Tom Dolan
2018 Candidate for Edgar County Sheriff
Tom Dolan for Sheriff 