Washington County Commissioners have been questioning the bill paying practices of the county by the Controller’s Office. In a letter that commissioners sent to Acting Controller Heather Sheatler on March 14, Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman demanded answers when he was informed that the county’s health insurance carrier had not been paid in two months and the health insurance contract was in danger of cancellation. That would have cancelled health insurance coverage for 1,500 hundred employees and retirees, according to Sherman. Sherman said he was made aware of more than a dozen other delinquent accounts, some of them small local businesses doing business with the county. Sherman states that there has been no response from Sheatler’s office. WJPA did receive a response from Sheatler characterizing the letter as a mechanism to discredit her before the primary election. She indicated that she was not forwarded an invoice from the Human Resources Department to pay the January health insurance bill. Both bills were paid in full in February. Sheatler provided copies of paid checks to the insurance carrier that showed the checks cleared two days before the February 27 notice that was Sherman received that the account was delinquent. Sheatler went on to say that the letter is entirely false and no response is warranted. The Solicitor for the Controller’s office authored a cease and desist letter informing commissioners that they are not to try and regulate the office of the Controller. They are not to treat Sheatler as a traditional employee and any further attempt to do so could cause legal action.