This is the flowchart of how bills are paid in Camden County. Although their names do not physically appear on the checks, when the Auditor and the Commission approve the expenditure, they are effectively "pre-signing" or "pre-authorizing" the Treasurer to issue the physical check:
The Process for How the Bills are
Paid in Camden County
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Office holder, their chief deputy, or authorized employee generates the purchase order and it is sent to the Auditor.
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The Auditor makes sure that there is money in the line item the check is being drawn on and if everything is in order, they SIGN the purchase order and forward it to the Commission.
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The Commission (any single Commissioner) reviews the purchase order for any potential issues that they may see in the payment request. If they are okay with it, then they SIGN the purchase order and forward it to the Treasurer to issue the check.
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The Treasurer verifies that the purchase order has been approved by the Auditor and the Commission, then verifies that there is cash in the bank to cover the check, and if everything is in order, the check is issued for payment.
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All of these steps are required to legally process a payment from the Camden County coffers.
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Illegal Payments Made in Excess of $1,000,000.00
Below you will find copies of the County ledger, from the Treasurer's Office showing checks issued without Commission approval. The first page totals $991,853.98, and the second page totals $156,118.56, for a grand total of $1,147,972.54. There are two questions you should be asking yourself:
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Question #1. How did the purchase order even get to the Treasurer for payment without going through the Commission?
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Answer:Â The current Auditor, Jimmy Laughlin, is the Administrator for the accounting software and has the ability to "force" purchase orders through the system.
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Question #2. The ledger below, which came from the Treasurer's office, plainly shows that there was no Commission approval, so why were the checks issued? Â
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Answer: For whatever reason, the Treasurer's Office decided to ignore protocol and issue the payments in violation of state statute anyway. The chief deputy of the Treasurer's Office is also running for Auditor.
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