(Picture credit Rachel Garver for Lancaster County Treasurer)
County Treasurer Rachel Garver, a registered Democrat, said she will not resign her office despite Republicans calling on her to call it quits over nearly $1 billion in accounting errors found by Auditor Mike Foley.
Lancaster County Republican Chair Jack Riggins issued a statement on Wednesday, demanding an “immediate” resignation from Garver and her chief deputy, Kristen Anderson.
“I call on Lancaster County Treasurer Rachel Garver to resign immediately,” Riggins said. “I call on Kristen Anderson, who served as Chief Deputy Treasurer during the period of these failures, to resign any remaining county positions and to immediately withdraw from the race for Lancaster County District Court Clerk.”
Riggins said he found Foley’s report on Garver’s office “deeply troubling” and it was “a serious failure of stewardship of the public’s trust and money.”
Riggins call for resignations was backed by Nebraska Republican Party Chair Mary Jane Truemper, who said it was “time for a change” in the office.
Both Garver and Anderson responded to the calls for resignation in the Nebraska Examiner, where they said they had no plans to leave office.
“I have no intention of resigning,” Garver said. “I have a responsibility to the citizens of the county to take care of things. I fixed what needed to be fixed. … I have a couple of more things to work out. We’re working on new procedures.”
Anderson also said she will not resign.
Garver did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Plains Sentinel on the story. She has previously stated that she takes “full responsibility” for the errors committed in her office and that she plans to “maintain the high standards of accuracy and integrity expected of the County Treasurer’s Office.”
Foley released a report on Tuesday morning that revealed Garver’s office had nearly $1 billion in accounting errors, with some of the errors affecting the amount of property tax relief residents were owed.
The Auditor’s Office called the findings a “gross mishandling of local tax revenues,” with Foley flagging over a dozen categorical accounting errors by Garver’s office.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.