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La Porte County commissioners press auditor on delay posting claims online
Summary
Commissioners discussed a January decision to stop newspaper publication of claims and post them online; the auditor said format and juror-redaction issues remain, and the board agreed to meet the auditor the next day to resolve posting procedures.
La Porte County commissioners on July 2 pressed county financial staff about why vendor and payroll claims approved months ago have not been posted online, despite a board decision earlier this year to stop publishing them in newspapers to save money.
A commissioner said the board had voted in January to move claims from newspapers to online publication but noted ‘‘we're now, obviously, in July, and we haven't had those posted online.’’ The auditor responded that producing a public-friendly file requires discussion about format and redaction, particularly protecting juror names, and that staff need to coordinate with the county’s software vendor to create a workable report.
The exchange grew tense at times. A commissioner criticized how the issue had been raised in public without prior discussion; the auditor said they were willing to work the issue out but asked for an off-line meeting to determine required fields, redactions and order of items. Another commissioner suggested meeting the next day; the auditor agreed to begin contacting the software company once the board provides clearer guidance.
No formal action was taken at the meeting to change policy; commissioners agreed to follow up with the auditor and IT staff to identify a posting format and schedule. The matter was added to the agenda earlier in the session for discussion under old business and a separate, more detailed talk with the auditor was scheduled to move the posting forward.
