|
Gallatin County Commission Meeting Minutes Summary February 10, 2016
 |
|
The Commissioners attended a special meeting for the purpose of approving a special claim on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 @ 8:30AM. In attendance were Commissioners Skinner and White, Auditor Jennifer Blossom, Accounting Clerk Dawn Portzen and Commission Assistant Glenda Noyes. The Commissioners considered claim #8141288 in the amount of $995.34. Auditor Blossom explained that this special claim is for a building permit for the remodel of Building 4 at the Fairgrounds. Mr. Borzak received the claim in time that it could have been submitted in a timely fashion
to have been paid in the normal claims run on February 8th, however he didn’t submit it in a timely fashion. The impression given was that without a special claim the project would be delayed, but with this timeline the delay would only have been three days. The reasons that special claims are not allowed are: Department accountability – if departments are allowed special accommodations they will not work to comply with the set schedule; special claims create a lot of extra work for a lot of staff – this one in particular required Ms. Portzen to work overtime on a Friday to get it completed; and claims are always done on a Tuesday meeting for transparency purposes. Commissioner Skinner asked if this was the first time that an “emergency” payment was requested. Auditor Blossom explained that there have been requests in the past but her office was able to handle them through the Petty Cash fund, but there wasn’t enough in the fund to cover this
expense. She also noted that when the request for a special claim came in, Finance Director Ed Blackman, Accountant Jill Therrien and she all said no, but they were overruled by County Administrator Jim Doar who told them to process the claim. Auditor Blossom noted that she doesn’t want to hold up business but does not want this to become a pattern. Commissioner Skinner asked that she send an email to Mr. Borzak, with a copy to County Administrator Doar and the Commission explaining the issue and letting him know that this type of exception will not be allowed in the future. Commissioner Skinner stated that he wants to send a message that this is not how we are going to do business. Commissioner White stated that building permits usually take a long time to go through the process at the City level, so it is unlikely that a three day delay in paying for the permit would be delaying any kind of construction that would necessitate an emergency meeting. Commissioner White made
a motion to approve the claim as presented. Commissioner Skinner seconded the motion. In discussion Commissioner Skinner reiterated that he wants a letter sent to Mr. Borzak regarding the expected process going forward. All voted aye. Motion carried unanimously. Claims Approval
| |
|
|
