Board asks staff to draft written money-movement policy and clarifies legal-bill review process

A county commissioner asked the board to follow through on a previously discussed policy to formalize the money-movement process between the treasurer and county signatories and to segregate duties.

The commissioner said the board had discussed the change and thought a motion had been made to add the treasurer and to approve Julie Harris as an additional signer. Staff responded that while that discussion occurred, no specific directive had been assigned to implement written policy language. The staff member asked what language the board wanted so staff could gather information; the board agreed to place the item on the next meeting agenda for formal action and drafting.

Board members also questioned how outside attorneys’ fees are paid and reviewed. Staff said when an outside counsel is retained for a claim, bills are handled in the claim file by the claims adjuster and are not billed directly to the county; instead, legal fees flow through the claim payments and are later coded to budget lines. A county official explained that the prior practice—when the assistant state's attorney (named in transcript as Karen Donnelly) received and reviewed copies of every legal bill monthly—has changed. CCMSI and IPMG now review and approve legal bills as part of their claims-handling services, which staff said removed the prior monthly assistant state's attorney review step.

Staff offered to provide monthly transaction reports that show how legal and claims-related costs are allocated across fund 99 sublines (general claims, medical, indemnity). The board directed staff to prepare the money-movement policy language and to bring transaction-level reports to the next meeting for review.