Claiborne County supervisors pressed staff on Aug. 18 for a clear accounting of unpaid bills after members said last meeting’s total of roughly $790,000 did not match the claim dockets presented at this meeting.
The board asked accounts payable for an updated printout showing which claims had been paid and which remained outstanding. “At the last meeting, we were told we had a total of 700 and some thousand dollars worth of unpaid bills,” Supervisor Chambers said. “These 2 claim documents that we have presented today does not total that $7,790,000. So that tells me that we still have some claims.”
Why it matters: Supervisors said the county has previously attributed late payments to gaps in receiving procedures; members asked whether delegated receiving duties assigned May 29 had been carried out. They requested a same-day update and clarification about invoices that arrived after the current run’s cutoff.
Board discussion and staff responses
Accounts payable staff told the board that the presented run included everything received and keyed by the cutoff date but that additional invoices had arrived afterward and would appear on the next run. When supervisors asked about a recurring vendor — Waste Pro — staff said Waste Pro’s invoice likely arrived after the report was completed. “We're probably still waiting on their invoice,” accounts-payable staff said.
Supervisors asked for a printed list showing which bills were recently paid and an updated total of unpaid claims by the end of the day; accounts-payable staff said a printout was available on the administrator’s desk and could be provided. Several supervisors reiterated they wanted the county administrator and accounts payable to confirm whether the receiving function had been consistently staffed, because earlier minutes stated those duties had been delegated.
Actions and next steps
The board voted to approve the claims docket as presented. Supervisors asked staff to provide an updated, itemized printout of paid versus unpaid claims and to clarify which invoices arrived after the cutoff for this run. No change to payment policy or a formal new deadline was adopted at the meeting.
Ending
Supervisors said they expected a written update on outstanding claims and a reconciliation of the previously reported $700,000-plus figure at the next meeting or sooner if available.