Trending
STEUBENVILLE -- Hoping to put the controversy to rest once and for all, Jefferson County Commissioners voted Thursday to authorize the "appropriate" officials to process more than $243,000 in unpaid invoices for a water line relocation on State Route 213 done with no vote being taken, no bids and no signed contract.
The "appropriate official" would be Auditor E. J. Conn, who for the past seven months has refused to pay any invoice associated with the State Route 213 waterline relocation without a court order directing him to release the funds.
In Ohio, the standard statutory competitive bidding threshold is $79,568: Repairs in excess of the amount must be advertised for bids unless it were to be declared an emergency, and even then the price tag must be under $125,000 except in cases of physical disaster. There was no emergency declaration associated with the SR 213 project.
The legislative body also must vote to proceed during a public meeting, a signed contract must be presented and a purchase order issued. An auditor's certificate verifying the funds have been formally appropriated and are available is also required.
Over the past seven months Conn has repeatedly said none of those conditions were met and, without a court order, he has no legal authority to pay any of the invoices submitted for the project: Border Patrol, for $243,021.40; TS Electric, $18,566 and Ron Holmes, $1,500.
Prior to Thursday's vote, Commissioner Tony Morelli said they were moving forward on the advice of their attorney.
"We, as a board, were permitted to get outside counsel...so we can get the bills paid and get the '213 job' off our plate," Morelli said. "Our outside counsel, talking to his associates here and in Columbus, recommended that we do this resolution."
In the resolution, commissioners declared the work to have been necessary and "somewhat time sensitive."
ODOT needed the water line -- which at the time was in the state right of way -- moved so its crews could work on a hill slip just south of County Road 56. By law, if ODOT deems it necessary, any water line in the state right of way has to be relocated at local expense. If the line wasn't moved prior to the start of ODOT's slip repair, service to about 2,000 county water customers could have been cut off.
Commissioners called on Conn "to take the administrative actions necessary to process the approved invoices in accordance with applicable requirements."
"Although the work was improperly awarded, the completed project benefited Jefferson County and its residents," the resolution stated.
Like commissioners, Conn was authorized by Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Bruzzese to hire his own attorney to advise him.
Late Thursday, he said, "As county auditor, it is my duty and responsibility to not issue a warrant for improperly authorized expenses."
"We will consult with legal counsel to review the resolution to see if it meets the minimum requirements that would allow for payment while avoiding any potential liability for entire myself or the auditor's office," Conn said.