Hamilton County Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy, stood up from his seat on the dais Wednesday morning and handed auditor Chris McCollough a check for $462.
“I was very disappointed in you that you could not contact me and tell me that I’ve done something wrong,” Shipley told McCollough during the board’s weekly meeting. “I do not feel I did anything wrong. I followed the guidelines of when I was sworn in here in 2022 about my travel.”
Shipley is one of five commissioners who have collectively received $9,603 in reimbursements since Sept. 1, 2022, for trips from their homes to their regular Wednesday meetings at the Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave. To date, one commissioner, Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, has returned the full amount expensed for those trips since Sept. 1, 2022.
All five commissioners — Shipley; Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah; Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd; Mike Chauncey, R-East Ridge; and Graham — were sworn in Sept. 1, 2022. The men said they were told the practice was permissible and the norm. They weren’t aware it didn’t comply with IRS rules that don’t allow employers to provide mileage reimbursements for employee commutes, commissioners said.