State auditor nixes township bonds

The voters of Atchison, Jackson and Monroe Townships in Nodaway County voted 74, 79 and 79 percent respectively for the township leadership to sell bonds for townships’ operations.

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s office has ruled the state statue that directs the county clerk with the election operations involving the notice of the election to the public was not followed correctly. So the bonds for these Nodaway County townships, along with taxing entities in over 20 other Missouri counties, will not be certified and cannot be sold. These bonds were meant to fund operations of the townships. In other counties, their school districts and fire departments were found in non-compliance to the election state laws and face the same scenario that Nodaway County does.

Nothing has changed. No new laws were implemented. Instead, it is the state auditor office’s leadership’s interpretation of the state law, which tells election officials, that is the county clerk, how to place a notice of election in a regular subscription newspaper once two weeks prior to the election and again within one week of the election.

For the April 8, 2025 Municipal Election, Melinda Patton, Nodaway County clerk and election official, placed advertisements in the March 20 and March 27 local newspapers, 19 and 12 days before the vote, to notify the electorate of the upcoming ballot questions. This has been the standard of practice since December 2017, maybe longer. Because the second run of the notification was not one full week before the election, the auditor has decided the ballot questions’ results were not valid. The auditor’s office interpretation would be that the notification should have been printed March 27 and April 3, two weeks and within one week ahead of the election.

The local township officials came to the Nodaway County Commissioners meeting, July 17 to discuss the potential options to fund and continue with the townships’ business in 2026. After much gritting of teeth and discussion from both the county officials and township leadership, more questions arose. The county commission has solicited answers from two attorney firms, both work with a number of counties, for possible avenues to allow for funding through other county resources.

Associate Commissioner Chris Burns asked each township to calculate an amount that would be required for their financial commitments in 2026. Atchison Township has ordered a piece of new road maintenance equipment, which would need $100,000 of the bond revenue for payment, that the township voters approved. Both Jackson and Monroe Townships needed one-third of the approved $100,000 for three years which the voters authorized or $33,000 each to continue with normal operations.

The commissioners, while awaiting the answers to their questions from their attorneys, told the township officials they wanted to figure out a way to “loan” the needed monies and then the townships would reimburse the county, once the original dollars can be accessed. It was decided the tax would be collected as usual so the tax bills that are received in November will have that included. Then the collected tax would be placed in an escrow account separated by township until the final method is determined to place the taxes in the appropriate township’s coffers.

A new election must be in either November 2025 or April 2026, with the county picking up the costs associated. Now the township officials will have to begin again with all the procedures to place a bond question on the ballot, including a petition signed by 20 registered voters. Much education will be needed so the voter will understand the ballot issue is not a new tax but the continuation of a tax to fund operations.

Associate Commissioner Scott Walk had been in contact with State Representative Jeff Farnan’s office and suggested the township officials should contact the legislators and the auditor’s office also to voice their dismay in the ruling.