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Finance chair calls clerk account payment for spouse improper, calls for transparency
Summary
The finance committee chair told the Shelby County Board that a conference invoice was paid from a clerk operations checkbook and included $175 for a spouse, which the chair said violates county travel policy and described as "theft"; he said he has sent documentation to the clerk and spoken with a judge.
The finance committee chair told the Shelby County Board that an invoice for a county official’s conference had been paid out of an office checkbook rather than routed through the finance committee and that the payment included $175 for the official’s spouse, which county travel policy excludes.
“I asked for the invoice ... He paid them out of the clerk operations account,” the finance committee chair said, reporting that the clerk’s office used a special checkbook for the payment. He added that one conference payment included $175 for the spouse and that “if you read the county travel ordinance policy ... expenses for employee spouses will not be covered.”
The chair said he had shared copies of the invoices with the clerk and discussed the matter with a judge, and characterized the unauthorized spouse expense and the lack of committee review as a transparency problem. “This is theft to me now,” he said, calling for repayment and greater openness about checkbooks and disbursements.
Why it matters: The allegation raises questions about internal controls, whether the payment contravenes county policy, and whether payments from office-held checkbooks are sufficiently transparent to the finance committee and auditors. The transcript records the chair’s concern and expected repayment but does not include a response from the official identified in the report (Mr. Otis) or a formal board directive to initiate an investigation.
The meeting continued with the board approving appointments and claims; the transcript does not show further action on the finance chair’s allegation at this meeting.
