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Commission directs contract drafting to keep Linda Smith on for six months as BT and Co oversee financial cleanup
Summary
Commission voted to direct counsel to draft a six‑month extension of consultant Linda Smith’s contract to continue AP backlog work and period‑13 processing while BT and Co complete oversight; commissioners also discussed timing for hiring a county controller and agreed to pursue search firm names.
The Osage County Commission on Jan. 27 approved a motion to have county counsel draft a six‑month contract with consultant Linda Smith so she can continue work addressing an accounts‑payable backlog and complete period‑13 accounting tasks while BT and Co remain the project lead.
Linda Smith told commissioners she completed bank reconciliations for 2024 and 2025 and asked to be retained for a limited time to process outstanding wires and match invoices to bank entries, work she said involves “over $7,000,000” of items. Smith also provided historical metrics showing contracted hours were exceeded in prior years; meeting remarks cited that Smith’s hours exceeded contracted amounts by 71% in 2024 and 31% in 2025.
Commissioners emphasized that BT and Co would continue to serve as the oversight firm. As one commissioner put it, BT and Co “are the umbrella to oversight the whole” cleanup effort and will remain the project lead responsible for final recommendations to the commission.
On the county controller position, commissioners debated whether to immediately post the job or to solicit search firms. Several commissioners recommended waiting until BT and Co complete their work—one estimated the cleanup could extend into the fourth quarter—while others said beginning a search now would help ensure a timely hire to overlap with consultants.
The motion directing counsel Josh to draft a six‑month contract for Linda Smith, with bank reconciliation work included only if requested by the treasurer, passed by voice vote. Commissioners asked that the drafted contract be returned for consideration at the next meeting.
