(La Porte County, IN) - The political friction in La Porte County has possibly reached new heights.

 

The La Porte County Commissioners, by a bipartisan 2-to-1 vote this morning, approved a measure ordering LaPorte County Auditor Tim Stabosz to pay fees owed to LaPorte County Attorney Shaw Friedman's law firm. 

 

If Stabosz doesn't approve the payment, the order gives the commissioners the option of taking legal action against Stabosz, who could face being fined or even thrown out of office.

 

Commissioner Sheila Matias said Stabosz had taken a percentage off some of the bills submitted by Friedman. Stabosz, however, says he withholds full payment whenever he questions if a service billed for is valid and releases the funds once the charges are verified as appropriate by his office. 

 

Stabosz also defended his authority as auditor to do so on billing statements from any source. But, despite the order, he vowed not to pay Friedman on billings until evidence is provided that allows him to rule them as justified.

 

“I need to see the documentation I’ve asked for,” Stabosz said.

Matias said the commissioners review and give final approval to invoices, and Stabosz is overstepping his authority by not paying an invoice approved by the governing authorities. 

 

“His job is to pay the bills. State law supports that,” Matias explained.

Matias and Commission President Rich Mrozinski voted in favor of the order. Commissioner Joe Haney opposed.

 

Stabosz asked the commissioners not to vote on the order until they discuss the matter to resolve the situation without taking such action. Matias said there's never been a reason to question invoices from Friedman and added that the Indiana State Board of Accounts has never raised any red flags during their annual review of the ledgers.

 

She also said Stabosz seems to be singling out Friedman and not requiring the same standards as other providers. 

 

“We get lots of lawyer bills and I have not seen any other lawyer bills torn apart like this,” Matias said.

Several months ago, Stabosz alleged Friedman runs county government and, in response, Friedman filed a lawsuit against him alleging defamation of character. The suit has not been decided but is winding its way through the judicial process.

 

Stabosz said he is not targeting Friedman and would screen his billings as long as he had concerns about their legitimacy regardless of the situation.

 

“Sued for defamation or not, I would be doing this,” Stabosz explained.

So far, Stabosz said he docked Friedman $165 on a $10,000 billing statement he submitted July 15th for business he felt wasn't related to his responsibilities as county attorney.

 

Stabosz said he paid 90-percent of a Friedman billing statement from August 15th and is waiting for Friedman to submit the necessary documentation to verify the unpaid claims so he can release the funds.