FORT SCOTT — A weeklong impasse on more than $300,000 in Bourbon County expenditures was resolved after county commissioners authorized another commissioner other than Board Chairman Samuel Tran to sign the checks in question.
The issue arose when Tran refused to sign checks for payments commissioners approved at the Commission’s May 4 meeting, undoing a practice that had been in place for years, the Bourbon County Monitor reported.
In addition to refusing to sign the checks, Tran also cast the lone dissenting vote in a 5-1 motion authorizing those expenditures in question.
Tran, who already faces a potential recall vote because of purported budget violations, said at the Commission’s Monday meeting he had looked into the legality of paying the bills, and had determined his signature was not necessary, the Monitor reported.
Other commissioners expressed confusion about his refusal, particularly after Bourbon County Attorney James Crux reported the delay had already disrupted his office, and left contract attorneys unpaid.
“The checks need to be signed,” Commissioner Gregg Motley said at Monday’s meeting. “We are incurring late fees and Mr. Crux’s employees are not getting paid. Contract employees are not getting paid because checks are sitting unsigned. How do we take care of that today?”
The impasse ended when Tran appointed Commissioner Joe Allen as an authorized signature. The other commissioners unanimously endorsed the move.
“If it gets people paid and we get through this issue, I don’t care at this point,” Allen said, according to the Monitor.
Bourbon County Treasurer Jennifer Hawkins told the Monitor Tran had signed checks as expected previously, but began refusing after the May 4 meeting.
Hawkins also noted the county’s auditors had given their opinion on the matter, agreeing warrant checks should be signed by the chairman.
A RECALL petition was certified by Crux earlier this against Tran, giving organizers 90 days to gather enough signatures to force a recall vote.
The primary ground for the recall alleges a “failure to perform required duties,” the Monitor reported.
While a copy of the petition itself has not been released to the public, the Monitor said it stemmed from violations in the county’s jail bond and interest fund, when expenditures exceeded the county’s 2025 published budget.
Tran is the second Bourbon County elected official facing a potential recall vote.
A petition was certified against Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker in April, stemming from errors in advance ballots in the November 2025 general election, the Monitor reported.
