By Erica Solvig
Enquirer staff writer

DEERFIELD TWP. - Clerk Kristin Spiekerman is deflecting blame for late bills away from her office, instead publicly chastising township staffers she says are not getting invoices to her office on time.

As of a July 13 deadline, she says, no bills had been submitted. Spiekerman said she picked up some bills July 15 so they would get paid, but now the AT&T bill "may not make it" by the due date.

"I'm not going to go looking for bills," Spiekerman said during the trustees' meeting Tuesday night. "The fact of the matter is all bills should be turned in within a few days of (staff) receiving them. They should not be sitting around."

Township Administrator Greg Horwedel said Tuesday's meeting was the first he's heard about these bills. He is looking into what happened and will report to trustees Friday. "I want to find out what's going on," Horwedel said. "If we are holding bills, we will take appropriate measures."

The heated conversation came up during the bill-paying portion of the trustees meeting. Townships can't appoint one person to approve the bills, therefore the trustees give their authorization during the twice-monthly regular meetings.

The bills are sent to departments, then the staff turns those in with a purchase order so the clerk's office knows from what fund to pay the bill. The clerk's office then gets the checks ready for the trustees.

An Enquirer analysis of 2003 records showed the township pays late fees nearly every month, especially for utility bills, which led to nearly $1,100 in late fees last year. Spiekerman has argued that part of the problem is "outside factors that we can't control," including the mail system and vendors not giving the township enough turnaround time to process the paperwork.

One instance discussed Tuesday was a discontinuance notice that Warren County Water and Sewer Department sent because bills for two fire stations - totaling $1,230 - did not get paid by the June 30 due date. The county also charged a 10 percent penalty to each account, so the township will have to pay $123 in late fees on the next bills.

The bills get mailed to the fire department, and Spiekerman said her office did not get the bills until June 29. The township's payment was received July 15, so service will not be disconnected.

"When you start getting disconnect notices for your firehouse and their water bill, there's something seriously amiss with the way these bills are being handled," Trustee Lee Speidel said.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com