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Newton County court approves creation of purchase-order system; details to be developed with department input
Summary
Commissioners voted to approve creation of a countywide purchase order (PO) tracking system; the auditor's office will draft procedures and hold workshops with department heads before the court adopts a final procedure.
The Newton County Commissioners Court voted to approve the creation of a purchase-order (PO) system intended to improve tracking of county expenditures and reduce surprise invoices.
The court’s action authorized the auditor’s office to develop a PO procedure with input from department heads, and the court directed that the final procedure be returned to commissioners for formal adoption following workshops and department review. Misty Moore of the auditor’s office (referred to in the meeting as Miss Moore) had presented earlier status updates and proposed a development process that would include workshops with department heads and clerk’s office staff.
Commissioners described recent examples the auditor cited to explain the need for a PO system: an invoice of about $22,000 that arrived in 2025 for work charged to a 2024 budget item and a roughly $17,000 generator-related invoice from May 2024. The auditor said a PO system would have identified those obligations earlier and avoided the surprise of late invoices.
Commissioner Powell moved to approve creation of the PO system with the requirement that department-head meetings be held to draft the procedure; Commissioner Hobson seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote.
Court members emphasized the system must be user friendly and workable across departments. The auditor’s office will schedule workshops and return a proposed written procedure to the court for formal adoption.
