It was just a small item on the County Commission consent agenda Feb. 22, but it could have a big impact on future duties of long-time County Attorney Bill McNally.

Commissioner Eric Maxwell, who is a lawyer, asked for further discussion of an approval of tax refunds and abatement requests. While Maxwell did not have a problem with the list of requests, he did question the procedure used to confirm the amounts.

“How much does it cost us to have the county attorney check this list? I think the tax commissioner could do this and it would be a savings for us,” he said.

But Commission Chairman Jack Smith had a different view on the situation.

“This is used as a check and balance against what the tax commissioner does,” he said.

The other commissioners said that the list should be approved, and Commissioner Herb Frady suggested the process of overseeing the tax abatement issue could be discussed at one of the county’s new Wednesday workshop meetings when Tax Commissioner George Wingo could explain the situation.

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