KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A battle between the Clay County Commission and Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway grew worse this week after both sides criticized the other over an audit.
The commission is currently being audited after thousands of residents signed a petition last year and raised questions about spending and transparency in the county.
After the audit began in December, the county was subpoenaed last week by the auditor’s office after it claimed “delays, roadblocks and evasive responses” were experienced with the commission during the audit process.
Days after filing a lawsuit against the auditor’s office in response, the commission announced on Monday that the subpoena had been stopped.
Attorney Joe Hatley, who is representing the commission, told 41 Action News on Tuesday that efforts to enforce the subpoena were put on hold after an agreement between both sides out of court.
However, Hatley continued to claim that Galloway was overstepping her authority as auditor.
“She can’t go out and do management audits or performance audits. She can only do financial audits,” he said. “We’re not trying to hide anything that the law doesn’t say we’re allowed to withhold.”
Since the audit began, Hatley said over two dozen county members have been interviewed while the county has handed over plenty of financial information.
“The county has given her the last two years of its general ledgers and 300,000 lines of its last transactions,” he said. “The county has fully cooperated with the auditor’s request when it comes to the financial transactions and the financial records. That’s all she’s empowered to look at under the state constitution.”
Hatley said concerns were raised by commissioners after the auditor’s office allegedly asked for closed session records.
According to Hatley, the records contain sensitive information.
“There are things that come up in closed session, such as personnel issues and employee health issues,” he said. “We don’t know why they want them and they won’t give us an explanation and that’s all we’re asking.”
After 41 Action News reached out for comment on Tuesday, the state auditor’s office shot back with a response to Hatley’s claims.
A spokesperson claimed the office had experienced “an unprecedented amount of obstruction” during its investigation and said “the information is commonly requested and routinely provided during the audit process.”
Following the developments this week, petition organizer Jason Withington said he hoped answers to the audit would come soon.
“At this point, I think the county should just turn over all the documents requested to the courts,” he said. “Over 9,000 people have requested this audit and the citizens want answers. Turn everything over and let’s move past this.”
Hatley told 41 Action News that he planned to file a motion in the next week to formally stop the subpoena from moving forward.
It is unknown how the latest developments will impact the cost and timeline of the audit.
