Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 9, 1990 TAG: 9006090164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Short
When Samuel G. "Ted" Timberlake, a veteran member of the Board of Supervisors, asked his colleagues why the county paid so much for so little, they were sure he was mistaken.
He wasn't.
Timberlake is known for his dogged questioning of even small expenses when monthly invoices are reviewed. Others at the meeting often squirm in their seats, hoping things will move on.
But Tuesday, Timberlake had a copy of a $891.53 bill paid to Princeton Machinery earlier this spring for work on a garbage truck. It included $180 for six 30-cent nuts and $240 for six 40-cent bolts.
Say what?
Other supervisors couldn't believe it. It must include labor, they said. There had to be some explanation.
There was.
Timberlake said it was a bona fide mistake - an example of why he reviews the bills so carefully each month.
Closer examination of the handwritten bill showed the cost of the nuts as $1.80.oo and the bolts as $2.40.oo, with little zeros at the end.
Someone had dropped the decimals when the bill was totaled. County Administrator Ken Weaver contacted Princeton Machinery the next day. By Friday, the county had a refund check for $415.80.
by CNB