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Heigh Ho, it's off to the Public Access Counselor and State Board of Accounts we go ...

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time On May 24, 2012, the Jefferson County Commissioners were presented with a $20,557.81 voucher that was already paid to Ralph Armand, former Health Dept. Administrator.This request was approved by the Commissioners and acknowledged, without reviewing the the hand written scribbles and calculations comprising the request that was also unsigned by its creator and lacked support documentation or certification by the county attorney, as required by State Board of Accounts. Kudos to Commissioner Tom Pietrykowski for truthfully admitting that he was informed that this appropriation was for "unemployment" and not for compensatory and vacation time.http://www.youtube.com/embed/PI7e_pO8BS4The Health Dept. Administrator is an exempt position and is ineligible for overtime or compensatory time. However, Auditor, Celeste Reed confirms that it was her writing that validated the request that paid Ralph Armand for 236.25 alleged comp hours earned entirely during two declared emergencies; flooding in 2011 and the Mar. 2, 2012 tornado. These hours cannot be verified in public records, but this is a fairy tale, so lets assume our Auditor can provide proof of prior authorization for the alleged hours worked in addition to the weekly salary base of 35 hours. Mr. Armand is paid now for 33.7 days of compensatory time for these two events. And the cover up continues by denying the public access to the Employee Service Record in violation of the Access to Public Records Act (APRA). Heigh Ho, it's off to the Public Access Counselor and State Board of Accounts we go ...7/25/2012 Update: Surprise, the State Board of Accounts identified several accounting anomalies resulting in this exact type of misappropriation. A slap on a wrist. Council person Laura Cash-Boldery never returned my calls or followed up on this issue as promised. Fast forward to 2016 ... the county is still unable to balance certain accounts and an investigation is ongoing with council president Cash-Boldery in the lead.Admin's Note: These concerns were presented to the Commissioners in a public meeting on Thursday, May 24, 2012. Our local paper has again shown their own media bias by failing to report on all agenda items, including this telling public discussion. 

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Cause Dismissed

Plain and simple; the Jefferson County Plan Commission filed this cause in bad faith. For almost 18 months, the County failed to move forward one iota in prosecuting their case; absolutely no discovery, no depositions and no communication other than to answer the Chapos request for production of documents. In answering this request, the County attempted to extort several hundred dollars in unwarranted copying fees, facilitating the Chapos to file a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor on 12-10-2007. In an informal ruling 1-24-2008, the Counselor determined that the Plan Commission violated the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) by charging an excessive fee for copies of the zoning ordinances. Furthermore, the County failed to correct the complaint which named the incorrect parcel, effectively encumbering the property rights of an uninterested third party. The County’s attorney, Kristin Vandewater was promptly notified and confirmed this fatal error in a fax dated 9-9-2007, but then failed to ever take any corrective action. The Chapos filed a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Prosecute on 12-5-2008. https://indianahomestead.com/wp-content/gallery/090504-CT-Order41E.pdf The "yada-yada-yada" hearing was finally held on 4-9-2009 and ruled on 5-4-2009. The County’s attorney insisted on arguing the Public Access complaint and not the merits of their original action, the only basis for the hearing. To the total dismay of the County's legal team, the cause was dismissed with prejudice, leaving no recourse for the County to retry this action. But that doesn’t stop the County from trying non-the-less. The saga continues …

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Public Records

In response the the Chapo’s request for production of documents, the County attempted to extort several hundred dollars in unwarranted copying fees. As a result, the Chapo’s filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor on 12-10-2007 In an informal ruling 1-24-2008, the Counselor determined that the Plan Commission violated the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) by charging an excessive fee for copies of zoning ordinances. But that's ok, if the County uses these "unreasonable copying fees" to help settle thier long past due Court ordered settlement to the Chapo family already. [ssg-superb-slideshow=records=250=400=4000=600=0=YES]

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