Jay,
Jim's certs are not effective until he sends them to the VC. He may review his work and write the cert, but it cannot become effective until sent to the next level. Just as my certs (as I am VC, and a measurer, and a FS) are not effective until I send them to the Registrar.
That said, if a measurer doesn't want a cert issued until he is paid, then don't submit the paperwork until payment has been received. The risk of this is that an error is detected by the Certifier, and changes need to be made. The course would then not be effective for the current-year's race, which could be an issue.
Payment issues are a dilemma. As Jay states, we are also serving the running community. We don't necessarily want the runners to be shorted due to lack of payment by a race, but that is reality. If time is running out, and we think we will get paid, we can submit the paperwork, but not supply the cert to the RD. Can be downloaded within a week, though, in most cases. We just don't have much recourse, and may have to trust races to pay us. We may be shorted over time, but for the most part, I think we will be paid.
Mark, you are lucky! Most of the courses I measure have race directors and committees that aren't runners. They just want to make money for their cause, so they put a committee together, usually with no runners on it. Talk about lack of direction!