Madison County Auditor Rick Faccin said during the Finance and Government Operations Committee meeting that current litigation by former employees of Chairman Kurt Prenzler’s administration has so far cost taxpayers $300,984.82, but board member Chris Guy points out that litigation expenses have a history of involving both Democrats and Republicans.
During the Oct. 14 meeting, Faccin thanked Committee Chair Don Moore for letting everyone speak, even when the discussions are adverse. He did not specify which lawsuit is “costing taxpayers a ton of money,” but said the issue is bipartisan and should have been avoided.
“We sit in here and we talk about holding the line on expenses, and I think you do a good job of calling everybody out and saying if we can cut here, if we can make an improvement here, we do it,” he said. “Well, listen, I don’t mean to be repetitive, but the one particular case of the litigation expense on that it … has now crossed the $300,000 threshold.”
“I bring it up every month because it goes up every month,” he added.
While Faccin did not mention any lawsuits specifically, the county is currently being sued by former County Administrator Doug Hulme and former IT Director Rob Dorman after the board voted almost unanimously to terminate their employment in April.
Dorman also filed a lawsuit in May against Sheriff John Lakin to stop a criminal investigation that began when administrative offices were raided in January 2018.
Additionally, Dorman filed a defamation suit against Democratic candidate for county chairman Bob Daiber last month after Daiber issued a press release about the criminal investigation.
During the meeting, Moore said Faccin is just “putting salt in the wound” on a situation they can’t change in regards to current litigation.
“We all feel the pain on this,” he said.
Faccin also suggested somebody oversee new hires, arguing that Prenzler’s hired employees cost taxpayers money due to resulting litigation. He urged the committee “to find a mechanism to take a look at how the hiring practices are going around here.”
Moore responded that they can’t tell department heads how to hire, adding that sometimes new hires don’t work out.
“Nobody has a crystal ball,” Moore said.
“I have it in my office if you want to go back and look at it,” Faccin responded.
In response to Faccin’s statements, Guy asked “how much of these legal fees was the result of you suing Madison County taxpayers?”
Guy was referencing a lawsuit Faccin filed against the county and officials seeking an injunction of a March 2019 resolution ordering the auditor to allow the county board and a number of officials access to the USL financial system used to track county financial information.
The county board passed the resolution by a party line vote of 13-12 with Republicans carrying the majority.
The county board had declared that the system serves as the official book of accounts, and that it is essential for honest government that details be accessible by administrators.
During the meeting, Faccin responded that his lawsuit against the county cost “in the neighborhood of $100,000.”
“That’s going to be a pittance compared to what’s going to happen on this,” he said of the current litigation.
Faccin argued that he sued the county board to “stop the release of private and personal information.” In his lawsuit, he had claimed that the USL financial system contained medical details protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The suit ended in a settlement that allowed Prenzler and Hulme the ability to view the county’s revenue and expenditures for the past 10 years, but protected private information.
“There was a settlement,” Faccin said at the meeting, “but the settlement didn’t garner you guys anything. I got what I wanted out of that, and I saved taxpayers money in the long run.”
Guy responded that the county also got what it wanted.
“I wanted to point out that we had quite a bit of legal expenses incurred from your lawsuit, too, so just to be fair there,” he said.
Litigation involving the county and costing taxpayers money is an issue that involves both parties.
For example, Madison County taxpayers paid $487,500 to settle a retaliation suit filed against Democrat Bob Daiber, who is running against Prenzler for county chairman. Plaintiff Mary Parker was employed by Daiber, who served as the Madison County Regional Office of Education superintendent. She argued in her lawsuit that she was terminated by Daiber for complaining that she was not paid as much as male co-workers.