Commissioners Learn Truths Of Audit

After a call to the auditor and a heated discussion last Tuesday, several commissioners acknowledged that a recent auditor’s report didn’t reveal the whole truth.

“I’m just a little upset about the information I received from the auditor,” newly-elected vice chairman Dean Smith said when more details came to light during the nearly 7-hour meeting. Newly-elected chairman Tom Borer and commissioners Allan Bentley, Eli Jacob and Charlie Henery were also present.

The findings of a recent auditor’s report came under fire after it alleged deficiencies in the sheriff’s department and county attorney’s office, including uncollected funds and the failure to foreclose on delinquent properties.

At the commissioner’s meeting last week, it was revealed that the majority of those deficiencies had been remedied—many of them the same day as the audit—or the official was not actually at fault.

“My bookkeeper began corrections that very day,” Antelope County Sheriff Bob Moore said.

The sheriff said the only problem they still had trouble fixing was their accounts receivable that dated back to 2010; so he called Deann Haeffner, Nebraska assistant deputy auditor, for possible solutions.

“She gave us a plan on how to attack it,” he said. “Why did we have that since 2010? Guess who wasn’t ​the sheriff in 2010? It was Darrell Hamilton. I’m cleaning up stuff, we’re sending bills out and people aren’t paying them . . .Deann told us, ‘Bob just resolve it. Put all those claims before the board, have them dismiss them and terminate that.’ ”

The auditor’s report also claimed that Antelope County Attorney Joe Abler failed to foreclose on delinquent properties after he was instructed to do so by the board. During the discussion, Henery told the commissioners that the former board members had made that decision, but later changed their minds. He said after they found out it would cost the taxpayers more money to foreclose, they told Abler not to take action; however, there was no motion made to that effect.

“Some of these properties that are on this list, to be honest with you, are real liabilities,” Abler said. “Asbestos and everything else. It’s a legal thing that if you foreclose on something, the county sells it, but in between, the county owns it.”

On past foreclosures, he said “it cost the county more to foreclose, advertise and sell than the taxes that were owed on that parcel,” so the county board decided to offer payment plan options to the property owners instead of foreclosing them. Since studying the state statute more closely, Abler said has he “no choice,” he is mandated by law to foreclose on properties which are delinquent for more than three years.

“I spent two hours this morning with private legal counsel before I came to this meeting,” Smith said about Abler’s failure to foreclose on properties. “I have got documents from NACO, Elaine Munsel, telling us how to proceed with this because it is plain and simple, it says removal from office. Private legal counsel from this morning told me it means recall. So here we are, I thought the county attorney was negligent in what he done...Now it looks to me, it’s not his fault.”

Antelope County Clerk Lisa Payne said the new commissioners should spend more time communicating with their fellow county officials and less time pointing fingers.

“Honestly I feel like all of us previous employees that had been here, prior to you guys taking this board today, are on trial,” Payne said. “I honestly feel it. I feel like we’re on trial, and I don’t feel it’s fair.”

Smith said all of his frustration now lies with the previous board and the auditor.

“There is no one, in my mind, on trial,” he said.

“We’ve been here, for what, three hours?” Payne said. “And it’s been about ‘Why was this done wrong? Why was that done wrong? How come this is happening? That was dumb. How come you didn’t do this?’ ”

She said the county officials “have the best interest of the county” in everything they do.

Antelope County Assessor Kelly Mueller said if the new commissioners had questions, they should “go directly to the source and not just jump to conclusions.”

“And you wonder why everybody is feeling this way?” Mueller asked.

Antelope County Treasurer Deb Branstiter said all they need to do is have Abler foreclose on the eight delinquent properties and “quit arguing about it and just move forward.”

“Let’s do what’s right for our county, not our special interest groups and not individuals,” Henery said. “Let’s, as a board, sit up here and do what is right for Antelope County and let’s get along.”

Borer said “put yourself in my shoes,” as a new commissioner, he only had the audit report to go off of.

“Tom, I was in your shoes,” Henery said. “I was a new board member. I didn’t call lawyers and stuff before I come in here and try to make everything foul. I come in and I tried to learn what was going on and tried to understand this before I went forward.”

Mueller asked the new commissioners why they didn’t just talk to those involved.

“We’re all officials here, just like you’re an official now,” she said.

“I was trying to figure out how to bring this up to Bob,” Bentley said. “Should I go to Bob, should I go to Joe, should we try to do this in executive session? As was stated to me by the lawyer, she stated we have no right to do this in any kind of executive session, it has to be done in a public forum because this was all public information.”

Mueller said if they were trying to find out as much information as possible, they should have asked the questions directly.

“Why wouldn’t you go to Bob and ask some questions before the meeting?” she asked. “That would be normal behavior, to go to the person. I think you’re wondering where everybody is getting these ideas that they feel they’re on trial, but you’re not coming directly to the person, just talking to them and asking these questions. That would’ve saved a lot of this. So if you’re wondering why Lisa feels like everyone is on trial, it’s because you’re coming out with these accusations before the meeting.”
​
Abler said he would move forward with the foreclosures, per state statute.