Newton County commissioners order study, plan workshop to create purchase-order system

Newton County commissioners on Dec. 18 voted to move forward with creating a countywide purchase-order (PO) system to tighten controls on spending and increase transparency. Commissioner Pal moved the proposal and the court instructed the county auditor's office to establish the system and return with implementation details.

The proposal followed a public comment from Mark Norton urging a PO system to reduce disputed spending and “cut out a bunch of the [questions] that are going on in the county over money spending” (as Norton put it during the public hearing). Commissioners and staff discussed software and staffing implications: the county auditor said upgrading to a newer version of the county's financial software would likely be required before rolling out a PO workflow.

Commissioner Pal told the court, “I make the motion that we create a purchase order system through the auditor's office and try to have it implemented within the next 90 days with no additional staff being added.” The court agreed to pursue the plan but also asked for a workshop with the county attorney's office, the auditor and other staff to work out scope, limits and guidelines before full implementation.

Court staff and the auditor flagged technical steps the rollout would require. The county auditor told commissioners the office would need to update to a newer data module and indicated the upgrade and training would be part of the implementation plan. Commissioners also stressed that department heads have budget authority and that the PO system should not duplicate or conflict with existing controls.

Next steps: the county judge and staff will schedule a workshop to draft operational rules and a timeline; the court will revisit the proposal after the workshop and before full countywide implementation.