It's troubling enough that the Center for Community Resources overbilled Butler County by $165,380 to cover a budgetary shortfall.

However, it is more troubling that county officials have known about the problem for at least two months - possibly longer - and only in mid-March has the problem come to light.

This is a hot-potato issue that should have been presented for public scrutiny immediately, not handled in a lackadaisical way, and the county commissioners, as well as county human services director Carmine Scotece, merit criticism for the situation being kept under wraps for so long.

Likewise, District Attorney Tim McCune's response is puzzling. If fraudulent bills were submitted to the county by CCR - if false statements were made on official public documents and if signatures were affixed to those documents affirming information as being correct - that would seem to constitute an illegality.

Considering that possibility, McCune, who said he believes that his office is not the right one to pursue an investigation, should be advising the commissioners to request an investigation by higher authorities - such as the state attorney general's office - in order to bring the matter to proper closure.

If McCune doesn't make that recommendation, the county commissioners should submit that request to the attorney general's office by way of their own initiative.

There can never be proper closure as long as the county government continues to soft-pedal the seriousness of what occurred.

CCR, a nonprofit organization that serves mainly as a referral agency for mental health and mental retardation clients, is not a "small beans" operation. Created in 2003 by the county, it currently operates on an annual budget in excess of $2 million.

It ought to be able to operate on that level of funding, if officials who draw up its budget deem the total budget figure to be adequate for the work the organization carries out.

A delay in receiving state reimbursements has been blamed for prompting the overbilling. It is a fact that delay in receiving federal and state reimbursements is not a situation unique to CCR.

For that reason, it is troubling why CCR's executive staff would not have felt comfortable appearing before the county commissioners during a public business situation - even without prior notice - to explain the agency's money predicament and request a funding advance until the state reimbursements arrived.

The decision not to do that raises serious questions about CCR management's understanding of such issues and possible acceptable recourses.

The situation involving CCR smacks of a troubling lack of communication between the county and those who provide services to it - but even that was no justification for overbilling and submission of incorrect documents.

The response from county officials should be eye-opening to county taxpayers, since the CCR situation could have negative ramifications in terms of future government funding from beyond Butler County.

"Don't spend your money before you have it" was the lackluster reaction of Commissioner Glenn Anderson, who said, "That's a lesson we all need to learn."

"This was not a good situation" was Scotece's understatement. "But we need to balance that with the good this agency has done in the community."

CCR should elevate good financial management to the level of service it provides.

Statements like those of Anderson and Scotece belittle the seriousness of what occurred. And, the amount of time that elapsed from Dec. 17, when the audit of CCR that turned up the problem reportedly was released, raises the question of what county leaders hoped to accomplish by delaying public discloure.

Meanwhile, CCR executive director Thomas Devereaux's explanation that his agency has since bought new accounting software and that the agency's financial manager was replaced with an accountant and a bookkeeper doesn't explain Devereaux's apparent lack of touch with what was occurring under his supervision. He is the person first in line for criticism, although, judging from what has transpired over these first months of the year, those for whom criticism is merited has grown in scope - troubling scope.

County Controller Jack McMillin, who described himself as "incensed" over what occurred, should follow through with his intention to ask McCune to investigate CCR's business practices. But it also would not be out of line for McMillin to discuss with the state attorney general's office future strategy by his office in reviewing and approving future CCR financial documents. McMillin said he is withholding the agency's February bills until he receives a certified statement that the current billing procedures are done properly.

It's interesting that the controller's office, which was due to receive the agency's audit report by Jan. 1, was not given it until March 4, although McMillin acknowledged that other agencies' audit results have at times missed their submission deadlines. McMillin said he first learned of the CCR problem on Feb. 18, when Scotece came to his office to discuss the problem.

A $165,000 overbilling might not seem earthshaking amid the huge scope of county operations, considering that no evidence has surfaced that any money actually was stolen. But taxpayers expect Butler County government and its services to run like a well-oiled machine, not like a sputtering engine.

At least in this area of county government, a tuneup is definitely in order.