SNOW HILL — The interim county manager has found another surprise in Greene County’s financial records — since 2011, the county has overpaid South Greene Water Corporation by about $177,143.
“Since we started billing and collecting their bills back in 2011,” he told commissioners on Monday night, “we have made a double payment to South Greene. Basically, the numbers that were paid in by bank drafts were added to that balance sheet twice.”
The water department has been reading the water corporation’s meters and billing it monthly.
Records show a monthly spreadsheet with two lines labeled Posted Payments/Collections and Bank Drafts Applied, Hicks said. The total of those two lines fall under the line labeled Total Collections.
Water costs and other charges are deleted for the net amount the county pays South Greene.
An analysis by Auditor Jay Parris revealed the bank drafts were being added to the Posted Payments/Collections on most months. When the two lines were added together, the bank draft totals were doubled.
The overpayments began in April 2011 and totaled about $197,252. However, as adjustments for a few months where the numbers weren’t doubled and other errors were corrected, the total overpayment was reduced.
In the 2010-11 budget, there were two incorrect months, 12 months in 2011-12 and nine months this past fiscal year. The spreadsheet was revised in May.
“The good news is (South Greene) do know they owe you the money,” Hicks told the board, “and they intend on paying the money back.”
This year’s budget includes the extra payment, so the actual expenditure amount will be reduced, Hicks said.
“So you’ll actually have about $100,000 in your water fund that you won’t be paying out to South Greene,” he said. “So that’s a positive. Plus, you’re getting, depending on what you do, your overpayments back.”
Hicks said he was asked by South Greene’s board chairman if the county would be “willing to give them any consideration.”
The commissioners unanimously agreed the $177,143 be paid back to the county.
Following the meeting, Hicks said South Greene has the funds in its account and will be able to pay in one lump sum.
In addition, the Board of Commissioners moved its second monthly meeting scheduled for next week to 9 a.m. Aug. 19 at the farmer’s market building next to the Athletic Complex on Kingold Boulevard.
Commissioner Denny Garner made the request, he said, because the third Thursday in August follows too soon after Monday’s meeting was held.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.