““Anything that we have in our possession… we have provided. There are assumptions about some things that we have that are inaccurate… we’re not trying to hide anything,” Deputy County Counsel Shalanda Macon-Jaliwa Miller assured the judge.”
“Invoice 22 has been paid. Invoice 25 has been paid. So, someone has them,” an exasperated Merchant responded.
So, is Shalanda Macon-Jaliwa Miller saying they paid an invoice that they do not have in their possession? In a well-run competent office (and one in which corruption is not a given), a reimbursement check would not be released unless the invoice is attached to the request. An invoice for services rendered would not be issued unless the contract for those services was included along with proof that the actual services was provided. The Fulton County commissioner’s office should take a look at the DA’s billing and payment practices.
A few years before I retired, our office switched to a totally online reimbursement application. It was so hard for me to get used to. I had to scan in the invoices and receipts, name the pdf file as required by our institution, then fill out an online form and select the correct account for reimbursement.
For instance, if an invited speaker was requesting payment, I had to include the contract, the hotel bill, the airplane ticket receipt, and include a note for the reason for their visit. I can’t believe a county wouldn’t have the same type requirements.
I can think of only one time that, when in a hurry, I failed to attach those documents of proof. My request for payment was denied.
imho (standard disclaimer, i am not a lawyer nor have i in the past practiced law in wakanda) it is textbook “appearance of impropriety.”
IOW, they cannot account for their expenditures and/or the recipients of their payments.
they have no proof that they did not misspend funds for inappropriate or illegal purposes.
By the way, Ms. Boom-Shakalaka seems to have been promoted to a judgeship.
Which reminds me, I have come up with a term of endearment for our favorite all-star jurist, “Princess DIE.”