Officials Seeking Clarity On STE Contract

Crawford County officials are seeking clarity on its contract with Steelville Telephone Exchange, which the county entered into last year.

The county is paying above the contracted price and the services agreed to were not provided until last spring, nearly six months after installation was supposed to occur.

District 1 Commissioner Rob Cummings said he spoke with a representative from STE, who asked county officials to prepare a list of questions and concerns that could be addressed during a commission meeting.

County Clerk John Martin was blunt about what the question should be.

“Why are we paying so doggone much for service?” Martin said officials could put a list together, but ultimately it comes down to STE charging above the contract. The deal was supposed to result in savings to the county.

“Some of the office holders have expressed chagrin with paying more for phone bills when this was supposed to be a money saver,” Martin said. “If this comes off as we’re going to continue paying this for three years, we can amend this year’s budget to reflect that.”

Martin said it comes down to the principle, which is that the county should be paying the contracted price.

Cummings said he couldn’t make “heads or tails” of the contract. Martin said he read it as straightforward as possible.

“To me it was…services provided this amount per month,” he said.

The clerk said the county made “good faith payments” that were in excess of what the contracted amount was going to be, even as the work was delayed through winter. 

“I don’t know if it’s a cross-up between contracting and billing, billing and accounts payable or the accountant,” Martin said. “I don’t know. On paper, the amount we are paying is different than the amount we were contracted for.”

Martin said it wasn’t until March and April until items of substance were finally installed and questioned why the county was paying for undelivered goods and services.

“They were exceedingly late,” he said, noting that STE hasn’t even incorporated the sheriff’s department. “I don’t know what the disconnect is, but there is one. It needs to be remedied. If it’s on our end, we can do that. I just need clarification on that. On paper.”

Martin said it is crucial that the county have documented proof of what it should be paying since the issue will come up when the auditor’s office returns in the next couple of years.

“The auditor will come in and say, ‘you have a contracted amount; why are you paying extra?”

Amending the budget won’t be too much of an issue since it has to be done in November to reflect the sales tax increase, Martin said. A line can be switched on each office budget to reflect paying more for month.

“It’s not a huge ordeal to do that,” he said.

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