County Pays IRS Penalty then Taps Reserves for $215,000 in Expert Witness Expenses

SAN ANGELO, TX -- In what was an otherwise routine meeting Tuesday Tom Green County Commissioners approved an eye-popping $215,000 line item transfer from the contingency fund to expert witness expenses for one criminal trial.  

According to County Judge Steve Floyd, the County pays for expert witnesses to testify in trials where the defendant is indigent and has a court appointed and taxpayer funded defense attorney.  Court records are sealed so the specific case cannot be identified.  Expert witness testimony typically is presented in murder and capital murder cases.  

In other business Tuesday, commissioners took no action following an executive session and discussed findings from an Internal Revenue Service audit.  

UPDATED 10/10/2017 3:30 p.m.

Commissioners on Tuesday 'begrudgingly' accepted the findings of a recent IRS audit.  Pct. 3 Commissioner Rick Bacon made the motion to "begrudgingly" accept the findings.  County Treasurer Dianna Spieker told the court the audit showed two instances that needed correction.  The court approved paying the IRS $6,016 in penalties and interest for those two instances.