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SCOTTSBORO - Former Jackson County Sheriff Mike Wells said he will not pay back $70,000 state examiners say he "inappropriately paid" the Alabama Sheriff's Association during his last term in office.

"You're full of bull. I'm not paying anything," he said he told examiners. In an audit report released Friday, the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts identified payments totaling $70,000 as "special assessments" to the Sheriff's Association.

Examiners said Wells misapplied a state law in making the payments.

That law says a county commission may pay the sheriff's annual membership dues to the association from the county general fund.

Jackson County Commission Chairman James Tidmore said Tuesday the commission allots enough in its annual budget to cover the membership dues of the sheriff and other department heads such as the probate judge and revenue commissioner. But those dues are typically in the $150 to $200 range, he said Tuesday.

In its report, examiners said the following payments were paid from the Sheriff Department's pistol permit fund to the Sheriff's Association: $10,000 on Sept. 23, 2005; $50,000 on Feb. 17, 2006; and $10,000 on Sept. 6, 2006.

Wells, who left office in January 2007, said Monday the payments were for legal advice the association provided him on various matters. He said it had never been a problem when he paid the association for this service in earlier years.

Examiners said they demanded Wells pay back the $70,000, but he refused.

They said the case will be referred to the local district attorney's office. If the local district attorney doesn't follow up, Chief Examiner Ron Jones said, usually the state attorney general's office will.

Wells failed to attend a hearing on the matter before Jones, the examiners said. However, Wells said he had been told by a state examiner in November that he didn't have to go to the hearing.

Jackson County District Attorney Charlie Rhodes said Tuesday he has not seen the examiners' report.

"But it would not appear it personally benefited him," he said. "I'll have to examine what the allegations are and what funds should not have been sent to the Sheriff's Association."

Bobby Timmons, executive director of the Sheriff's Association, was not available for comment Tuesday.

Wells said Monday that Rhodes had already told him he was not going to pursue the matter.

Rhodes said Wells had spoken to him several months ago about the state's looking into payments he'd made from the pistol permit fund and how similar payments to the association had been approved in the past.

"He didn't talk in specifics," he said.

But, based on what Wells was telling him at the time, Rhodes said he told him then he would be surprised if the payments were not approved this time.

A spokesman for the Madison County Sheriff's Department says funds from its pistol permits are divided between the county commission and the sheriff. The department sells $10 pistol licenses, netting about $100,000 each year.

One dollar of each license sale goes to the County Commission's general fund, and the remaining $9 is spent at the sheriff's discretion, spokesman Chad Brooks said.

"It's used in various ways, but there's no real restrictions that I know of," Brooks said. "It's up to the sheriff."

The cash is typically spent on vehicles and the K9 unit, including care and veterinarian bills for the dogs. The majority of the money pays for additional training for deputies, Brooks said.

Wells said the examiners were just trying to get the $70,000 back from the association.

"I have no intentions of paying it back, and they're not looking at me to pay it back," Wells said. "It looks like they're coming after me, but they're not."