Scurry County opts for 42‑month repayment plan after $464,417.37 comptroller notice

Scurry County commissioners reviewed a Texas Comptroller notice that an overpayment of $464,417.37 had been allocated to the county and considered three repayment options: immediate full reimbursement by ACH, application of future monthly collections until the amount was repaid, or a structured 42‑month repayment with monthly deductions. After discussion, the court approved the 42‑month deduction schedule.

The court weighed trade‑offs: returning the money immediately would reduce the county's interest earnings and available cash, while a multi‑month schedule preserves liquidity but reduces future sales‑tax receipts. Speaker 1 told the court, "We don't have a choice in this whatsoever," noting the comptroller will require repayment. Commissioners discussed whether the comptroller charges interest or fees; meeting notes indicate no explicit interest penalty is shown in the comptroller letter, though option 1 (one‑time ACH) would be adjusted by a 2% service fee per the letter.

The 42‑month option presented would deduct $11,057 monthly for 41 months with a final deduction of $11,080.37 as described in the comptroller's notice. Commissioners noted that automatic deductions would reduce revenues in the near term and could affect reaching budgeted sales‑tax targets, but the court voted to accept the 42‑month collection plan as the least disruptive to cash flow.

Staff were directed to stamp and return the county's elected response to the comptroller within the notice deadline; the comptroller letter also notes that if the county does not respond within two months, future auditor actions may automatically apply payments toward the overpayment.