Hamilton County commissioners on July recessed consideration of a resolution that would approve a deviation from the county discretionary-funds policy for United Action Alliance and address reimbursements to the Fifth District commissioner, deferring final action to next week.

The issue matters because county staff and an auditor said at least some of the expenditures tied to the nonprofit did not conform to the county's discretionary-fund rules, and commissioners raised questions about past informal practices and internal controls.

Resolution 7 25-13 would "approve the deviation from the county's discretionary funds policy as to the appropriating of funds to the nonprofit organization United Action Alliance as made by the commissioner from the Fifth District in the amount of $1,419.29," the clerk read aloud. Commissioner Beck said the matter is largely housekeeping and asked that it be placed in the correct category for next week's meeting.

Jeff McCullough, county auditor, warned the commission the reimbursements were improper. "[It] was reimbursed to the commissioner in district 5 in FY24. The cost was directly related to a nonprofit event, and these expenditures do not qualify under the travel discretionary fund. Therefore, they should not have been reimbursed," McCullough said.

Commissioner Beck defended the reimbursement as an expedient way to cover accommodations for entertainers at an outreach program. "This program is under our auspices, the county auspices, and they didn't have, they didn't, they were sponsored. This program is sponsored, but it's also in our budget," Beck said. "It would have been cumbersome for me to try to come back through the county commission and get the commission to approve funds to go to the United Action Alliance and then have them to pay for this accommodation. So I did it."

Commissioner Mackey recounted earlier, less-formal practice in which district expenditures moved through administrative channels without full commission review: "...if a commissioner had a project or wanted to spend money in a district, they just spent it. We didn't even bring it before the commission." Mackey urged adherence to rules going forward.

No vote was taken. The chair closed debate and said the item will be taken up next week, giving staff time to review the policy and any required paperwork. The commission also heard that United Action Alliance received $3,500 from district 5 discretionary funds in FY24, a figure discussed during the exchange.

The discussion distinguished three threads: auditor findings that some reimbursements did not meet travel-discretionary guidelines; the commissioner’s explanation that the payment facilitated county-sponsored program logistics; and several commissioners’ call for adherence to policy and formal approval paths. The commission did not adopt any formal remedy at the meeting; it postponed action for further review.