Judge orders Clay County to comply with auditor subpoenas, top official must testify
A Missouri judge ordered Clay County to comply with subpoenas issued by the Missouri Auditor for records and testimony in its ongoing examination of county government.
As a result of Circuit Judge James Van Amburg’s order, issued Friday, Clay County has ten days to turn over minutes to all open and closed meetings from 2017 to 2019. The county also has to produce for the auditor performance appraisals for several employees, including a departed county administrator and three current top-ranking officials.
Also, assistant Clay County administrator Nicole Brown has been ordered to give sworn testimony to the Missouri Auditor’s office.
The Missouri Auditor has the power to issue subpoenas — legal orders for testimony or documents — but does not often use it.
“For too long, county commissioners ignored taxpayers’ calls for accountability,” said Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway in a statement on Monday. “That’s why our office went to court to demand answers and ensure we get the facts. The court’s ruling requires that Clay County officials comply with my audit and stop their obstruction.”
In an unattributed statement, Clay County said its lawyer received the court’s ruling and that the county will review its options, which could include an appeal.
“All along, staff has prioritized our employees’ private information, which the Missouri Supreme Court has consistently found to be highly confidential,” the county’s statement said. “That remains our focus.”
The Missouri Auditor started an audit of Clay County in December 2018 after more than 9,000 residents signed a petition inviting the scrutiny of their county government leaders.
The petition drive for an audit resulted from suspicions that Clay County government wastes taxpayer money, operates in opaqueness and has been generally dysfunctional. Specific examples include a top official tampering with public records and the sheriff resorting to a lawsuit against the Clay County Commission for cutting his department’s funding for what he believed was political payback.
Galloway took Clay County to court after Brown did not show up for a deposition last year and the county did not turn over certain records, including minutes from closed meetings.
Before that, in January 2019, the Clay County Commission sued the auditor, arguing the office has no authority to carry out a performance audit. The Clay County Commission, a three-member elected body, is largely controlled by outgoing commissioners Gene Owen and Luann Ridgeway who usually out-vote presiding commissioner Jerry Nolte on most substantive issues.
The Missouri Auditor won that case in district court but Clay County has appealed the decision. That appeal remains pending.
