Dallas County’s auditor resigned Wednesday following ongoing failures to pay county employees and contractors.
The county has been plagued with continuous payroll problems since its financial management system was updated in April, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Hundreds of contracted workers, defense attorneys, and county employees have not been paid on time, while some have not been paid at all.
County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman said County Auditor Darryl Thomas handed in his resignation on Wednesday, according to The Dallas Morning News. Thomas had occupied the role since 2015.
After he requested a raise, district judges reportedly told Thomas he must resign or be fired, reported the DMN.
County officials have not managed to remedy these payroll problems and now reportedly do not know how much money the county has in its general fund.
Budget Officer Ronica Watkins told the DMN she has not had a clear understanding of the county’s financial state in over four months.
“I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but I want to make sure people understand where we are at,” she said. “I don’t have good numbers.”
Watkins intends to give the Dallas County Commissioners Court a proposed budget in September. The county must adopt a new budget by October 1.
The City of Dallas must also adopt a new budget by this date, and the City Council is scheduled to finalize the FY23-24 budget on September 20, as reported by The Dallas Express.
“So everything was built on a Sept. 5 timeline,” Watkins told the DMN. “And if it pushes it back — think of us in a vacuum, it has some unintended consequences to other departments.”
Furthermore, Watkins said the auditor’s office is in the process of determining how much the county owes to employees and contractors who have not been paid. She said Dallas County plans for two weeks of “no spend” beyond essentials in September to free up funds, and only emergency issues will have their budget requests granted.
Meanwhile, the county jail has also been struggling, in part due to the software change. The jail is now 97% full, and officials are beginning to release inmates early, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
