Jean Kaczmarek
A past due credit card bill is now part of the ongoing controversy surrounding the DuPage County clerk’s office and unpaid bills.
The $4,812 charge on the county’s only credit card stems from a retrofit to the county clerk’s election van.
County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek submitted the bill for payment, but the county finance department noted there was no money in the clerk’s capital budget to pay the bill.
On Tuesday, a proposal to transfer money out of the county’s contingency fund to pay the bill failed to get enough support from DuPage County Board members.
“In a perfect world, the clerk would need to do a budget transfer,” DuPage County Chief Financial Officer Jeff Martynowicz told county board members.
Martynowicz noted the auditor had reached out to the clerk’s office to suggest a budget transfer within the clerk’s budget, but the clerk’s office did not respond. County officials noted it would take the county clerk a few minutes to do the required paperwork.
“This is how we do things in the county, how every department does it, every countywide (elected official) does it, except for this office,” county board member Jim Zay said.
According to county officials, the clerk’s office has declined to identify a specific budget line with sufficient funds for the bill.
Clerk’s officials have long contended the county does not have the authority to dictate how their office spends the money it is allocated.
“It seems like the county board is cutting off their nose to spite their face,” said Chief Deputy Clerk Adam Johnson, noting the county will likely incur late fees and added interest by delaying the credit card payment.
Some county board members said they didn’t question the expense. However, they expressed frustration about the clerk refusing to fill out the paperwork to transfer funds within her budget to pay the bill. They said they did not want to pull money from the county’s contingency fund to cover it.
“If we pay this, we’re setting a bad precedent,” county board member Lucy Chang Evans said.
Others disagreed.
“I don’t know how we can not pay this bill,” county board member Sam Tornatore said. “We have to pay this bill. Otherwise, the county is not good for their word.”
Kaczmarek did not respond to questions from county board members on Tuesday.
But on Wednesday, she issued a written statement questioning the county board’s priorities.
“The County Board spent way more time discussing this $4,800 credit card bill than the transfer of $10 million to the tort liability fund several weeks ago,” Kaczmarek wrote. “It really makes you wonder about their priorities.”