Clay County a no-show at deposition; State Auditor Galloway says she’ll go to court

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway said Monday she will take Clay County to court after the assistant county administrator failed to appear for a deposition and hand over requested records.

The no-show is the latest twist in Galloway’s attempted audit of the county. It was initiated in December after a local citizen’s group submitted a petition with more than 9,000 signatures, asking her to examine financial records.

Residents had raised concerns about questionable spending, allegations of corruption, waste of taxpayer dollars and lack of compliance with the state’s Sunshine Law.

Galloway had issued two subpoenas to elicit information from the county after it failed to produce documents.

“The audit team is pursuing information routinely and readily provided in audits of county governments, but has been continually met with last minute delays, inconsistent information and excuses from the county,” Steph Diedrick, the office’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

Assistant County Administrator Nicole Brown wrote in an affidavit that she had given the auditor’s office advance notice that she had scheduled a vacation for the Thanksgiving holiday to be with her family Monday. She said the auditor’s staff did not offer an alternative date.

Brown is also scheduled to appear for a deposition Dec. 11, as well, according to Clay County public information officer Nikki Thorn.

“Our staff is also working diligently to locate and produce the other records requested as the County has every intention to continue working in good faith to produce these materials in as timely a fashion as possible,” Thorn said, in a statement.

The county has not handed over minutes from closed meetings, on the advice of its attorneys. It also said Brown is not the custodian of record for the offices of the county assessor and collector, so she cannot produce any documentation from those offices.

If the auditor’s office were to resort to asking a judge to enforce compliance of a subpoena, it would be the first time in the office’s history, according to Deidrick. Asked when Galloway planned to file the suit, she did not respond.

Galloway has already won against Clay County in court. On Oct. 23 a Cole County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Clay County Commission that sought to limit the records Galloway requested.

The ruling specifically mentioned that Galloway’s request for the closed-meeting minutes was not an unconstitutional act.

“If there is content in such records that should not be disclosed, such an issue is properly raised in a proceeding to enforce an administrative subpoena,” Cole County Judge Jon Beetem wrote in his ruling.

This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Clay County a no-show at deposition; State Auditor Galloway says she’ll go to court."