VIEWPOINT / Kim Laurie / Geauga County Juvenile/Probate Court Administrator
The Court's Side of the Story
Judge Tim Grendell and Court staff are only interested in conducting the Court’s official business as required and authorized by law, and would like to work with the auditor to that end. To the extent the Court’s efforts to navigate the unfortunate situations created by the auditor’s actions has offended anyone, the Court and Judge Grendell extend an apology, and ask: what would you do if faced with a seemingly never-ending series of unpredictable obstacles to conducting your business, including false accusations of criminal activity?
What would you do if your accountant routinely failed to process your bill payments, and threatened to arrest you simply for requesting an update?
There was a one-sided, factually incorrect article published in the Maple Leaf last week involving Court staff and Judge Tim Grendell. The reporter ran with the County Auditor’s false narrative without ever contacting the Court for its side of the story.
The truth is that Court staff did NOT steal any documents from the auditor’s office, nor did they cause a disturbance. The auditor’s staff gave Court staff the documents to sign, and when Court staff requested a simple status update of a delayed payment to a vendor who provides protective supervision for children during visitations, they were told to leave. If you were in the middle of signing documents that the auditor required you to sign, what would you do? Court staff asked if they could take the documents with them to finish signing and return once complete, and they were told by auditor’s staff “yes.”
The truth is that Judge Grendell NEVER threatened the Lieutenant, as falsely reported in the article. The Lieutenant had stated that the Court’s fiscal staff would be arrested if they ever in the future enter the PUBLIC space within the auditor’s fiscal office to conduct official business. What would you do if your staff were facing future arrest, simply for performing their official court duties in a public space? Judge Grendell explained that, to protect the Court’s staff, he had no choice but to put on an administrative order authorizing and directing them to continue to perform their official duties on behalf of the Court, and anyone who impeded their ability to do so would be knowingly violating a court order and face the consequences. The Lieutenant then asked Judge Grendell if he was going to arrest him. Judge Grendell said “no.” Judge Grendell has had an excellent record of working with the Chardon Police Department and local law enforcement officers.
The truth is that the Court does provide invoices for the vast majority of its expenditures, unless it contains statutorily required confidential information. What would you do if the auditor was refusing to pay a vendor until you provide a document that you cannot legally provide?
What would you do if the county auditor had, to date, delayed (for up to 6 months) or denied payment of over 100 legitimate Court expenditures, which are for proper public purposes such as child protective services, guardians for vulnerable seniors, statutorily required appointed counsel for the county’s mentally ill, therapeutic services for youth, services for the Court’s Help Center which assists unrepresented litigants navigate the court system, and statutorily required publication fees?
What would you do if the county auditor has been delaying the posting of Court purchase orders, preventing payment of invoices for over 140 days?
What would you do if a vendor whose payment was delayed called and asked you for an update that only the auditor can provide?
What would you do if the county auditor filed claims with the State Auditor falsely alleging tampering with documents, which the State Auditor found to be “unsubstantiated?”
The truth is that, the bottleneck being deliberately created by Auditor Walder’s constantly changing demands, increasingly restrictive requirements, and inexplicable delays in simple accounting procedures, is resulting in finance charges to the county; one vendor has sent its invoice to collections; another vendor has threatened to send their invoice to collections; and four (4) vendors have filed a mandamus action against Auditor Walder in the Supreme Court of Ohio.
The truth is that the Court would like the auditor’s games to cease. Such games cost the county taxpayers money; waste Court time; may result in a negative action against the county’s credit rating; and jeopardize the Court’s relationship with its vendors, who provide legitimate, Court approved services for proper public purposes, in the best interests of the youth, families, and seniors served by the Geauga County Probate/Juvenile Court.
