County Commission Drops Lawsuits to Block State Audit

The Clay County Commission announced in its weekly meeting on February 24, that it is ending the fight against the state audit. The audit of Clay County has been going on for over two years. It began in December 2018 after a citizen petition was submitted to the Auditor’s Office and then verified to have more than the minimum 5,590 signatures of county residents who are registered voters.

I am very gratified that we are able to now go forward in a way that is in the best interest of the people - Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte

Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte announced that the commission has dropped all opposition to the state audit. Discontinuation any lawsuits was a unanimous decision by the commission in January, and County Counselor Kevin Graham was directed to execute that directive.

Nolte has been a proponent of the audit throughout the process, however was continually frustrated by multiple lawsuits designed to prolong the process. Those lawsuits were instigated by former Associate Commissioners Luann Ridgeway and Gene Owen who acted against the will of the citizens of Clay County.

“I am very gratified that we are able to now go forward in a way that is in the best interest of the people,” said Nolte. “We wasted a lot of time; we wasted a lot of money, and there’s no way to get back either of those things. The idea that we have a group of commissioners working here today who expressed the kind of dedication to this cause is reason for gratification and reason for optimism as we go forward.”

Both newly elected Associate Commissioners Thompson and Carpenter agreed with Nolte expressing that the action to comply with the citizen-initiated state audit should be allowed to continue.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story