Earlier this month, businessman Robert Walters accused the town of East Laurinburg of trying to put one over on him.

Walters said the town officials devised a phony letter from the state that said the town did not owe him anything for the work his company, Robert's Tree Service, performed following a storm last year.

As it turns out, Walters was wrong about the fake letter. But he may be right about being duped.

Walters, whose work includes cleanups after Hurricane Ike, said he was asked by Mayor Randy Miller last June to help remove the downed trees and limbs caused by the severe storm. Town officials were frantic that the debris not hinder the access of emergency vehicles to residents.

Walters' bill eventually came to about $145,000.

But the state is now saying that neither it nor East Laurinburg owe Walters a dime. According to the letter from the N.C. Department of the State Treasurer, state agencies do not have to pay for the debris removal because much of the work happened on private property.

"We are aware that Robert's Tree Service is demanding payment of the invoice," a treasury official said. "However, based on our conversations with [Mayor Randy Miller] and the town's finance officer, it is our understanding that the town did not have the financial means to enter into the transaction. Furthermore, the obligation was not pre-audited as is required by the Local Budget and Fiscal Control Act, nor was it included in the town's annual budget, again as required by the General Statutes. Therefore, we do not believe this is to be a legal liability of the town and the town is instructed to make no further payments."

We wonder how far most of us would get with such an argument. Order an expensive meal at a restaurant, eat it and then explain that you did not have the financial means to enter into the transaction. Tell the restaurant that you hadn't even included the meal in your annual budget. We bet your legal liability is a little different than the government's.

To their credit, East Laurinburg officials say they want to pay Walters. And they should.

As Walters told The Laurinburg Exchange: "How can they say the work wasn't authorized? The mayor was on the phone that night to FEMA. They told him to do what he needed to do. What are they saying, that I just went over there and started cutting down trees for the heck of it?"

We realize that times are tough for state and local governments. But expecting (or tricking) small businesses into providing free services is hardly a road map for recovery.