Owen County Commissioners President Jeff Brothers rebukes County Auditor Patty Steward during the Nov. 18 meeting of the Owen County Commissioners
(Mitch Legan, WTIU/WFIU News)
Owen County attorney Jim Bryan says the County Commissioners plan to have an edited festival ordinance proposal ready in a couple weeks.
“There were over two dozen public comments that were made,” Bryan says. “There were also a number of requests to look at different documents and different ordinances. I am doing all of that. I wrote down notes on each and every one of those.”
Bryan said he expected a new, revised ordinance to be ready for public reading in two weeks, during the commissioners’ meeting on Dec. 2.
At last night's meeting the commissioners also voted to allow a piece of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to be displayed in the main lobby of the county courthouse on Nov. 27, before Spencer Pride’s World AIDS Day service on Dec. 1.
Spencer Pride President Jonathan Balash told the commissioners that doing so would help raise awareness in the county.
“Often in rural areas, people believe that AIDS won’t happen in their community,” he says. “However, Owen County has reported 79 cases of AIDS – that’s just up through 2016. To end this disease, education is truly paramount, so our purpose in bringing a panel of the Memorial Quilt to Owen County is to use it to bring added awareness to this rural area.”
Balash, on the other hand, says he’s learned to expect anything when it comes to the Owen County Commissioners.
“I am surprised by nothing the commissioners do,” Balash says. “But I am appreciative that they approved this particular request of ours.”
Balash was also referring to something that transpired about an hour into Monday’s meeting.
The commissioners discussed a State Board of Accounts audit report, which is when the state determines “whether the basic financial statements, including the notes, are presented fairly in accordance with the [audited] governmental entity’s financial reporting framework.”
Commissioners President Jeff Brothers said the report found some problems within the Owen County government, so the commissioners voted 3-0 to create a three-person oversight committee to help put together an internal control policy for the county. While explaining some of the things that were wrong, Brothers said the county's past issues with corruption had continued under County Auditor Patty Steward.
The commissioners also discussed PayCor, a software for human resources and payroll solutions.
Steward then addressed the commissioners and public, saying nothing in the report was out of the ordinary.
“Our audit is not bad,” Steward says. “In fact, it is heads and foot above what we have been in the past. That was [the auditor's] direct quote to me.”
She also said the commissioners never asked her about using PayCor, despite the fact that she is the county’s chief financial officer.
“I am the auditor. The payroll is processed through my office,” she says. “I was not contacted about that meeting [when PayCor was discussed]; I was not invited to the demonstration they first had for any of the employees. To this day, these three commissioners – none of them have sat down with me and my office to address the pros and cons of having payroll with PayCor. I take great issue to that. To me, that’s being disrespectful to my office. I am an elected official.”
Commissioner Brothers then interrupted Steward, and the two began trying to talk over one another with raised voices. The situation snowballed and Brothers, Steward and the public began shouting over one another.
“It’s because you wanna run for my office, right Jeff?” Steward asked during the commotion.
The whole fiasco ended with Brothers digging into his satchel, pulling out a gavel and vigorously slamming it loudly on the table for order.
Brothers and Commissioner Gary Burton voted in favor of PayCor. Commissioner Steve Williamson voted against it.
Owen County Council President Andrew Wood was at the meeting and said the commissioners’ actions were pretty par for the course.
“It shows a real lack of transparency, especially the president of the commissioners,” Wood says. “If you’re asking if it’s the mode of operation for the president and the commissioners – yes, it is.”
The Owen County Council will have to ok PayCor for the county to officially adopt it.
The Owen County Commissioners will next meet Monday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.
