Krista Rogers

Lycoming County commissioners have filed a lawsuit against an elected official for they what they claim has been a failure to properly carry out duties.

Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday clarified their reasons for transferring four personnel from the county Controller’s office to the budget and finance department.

The transfers approved last week drew yet another sharp rebuke from Controller Krista Rodgers who claimed the move violated county code.

Rodgers is the target of the lawsuit filed in Lycoming County Court Tuesday.

“My thought is they are grossly misrepresenting the situation,” she said following the commissioners’ meeting.

Commissioners on Tuesday said the facts set forth in their complaint against Rodgers are true.

They have contended that the transfer is necessary to have the employees trained.

“This is not a power grab,” Commissioner Scott Metzger said. “We are ultimately responsible for the county’s finances.”

Commissioners have contended that mistakes in the Controller’s office have resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars.

“It is a power grab,” Rodgers said. “It’s been a conspiracy from the start.”

Rodgers said commissioners were considering such a move for a long time.

Commissioner Rick Mirabito said Rodgers threatened to stop signing checks as required from her office.

Rodgers responded with, “I cannot sign bills I can’t review. By law, I can’t.”

She reiterated her previous statements that the commissioners have over-stepped their authority.

“If they can do this to one elected official, they can do it to another elected official,” she said.

She vowed to always stand up for the taxpayers.

Commissioner Tony Mussare said mistakes have been made in the Controller’s office and now personnel from that department must be properly trained.

“I’m sure it will be resolved,” he said.

The complaint states that the fiscal responsibilities of county government are under the county controller.

The complaint further states: “This action by the county is grounded in a failure of Controller to properly perform payroll, accounts payable, and general ledger functions of Lycoming County government at all relevant times …”

The complaint also states that the controller created the situation in her office in at least two ways.

“First, the Controller is not an accountant and does not know how to train her staff , yet she rejected the County Commissioners’ assistance offered through the (now retired) Director of the Fiscal Office. Second, the Controller’s continuous failure to come into her office has left a void in leadership and supervision. Although the Controller alleges her absence is due to family health issues, her absence predates those issues and the onset of COVID-19. The important aspects of the County’s financial functions have been operating with essentially an absentee Controller, with severe and adverse consequences.”

Rodgers said the issue is not about training or alleged mistakes.

In an email to the Sun-Gazette she accused commissioners of “an abuse of office” and “a conspiracy to subvert the law” over the past 16 months.

“They have been trying to figure out how to take these duties, and positions, away from me since December 2019 when they started paying their solicitor, again, on this issue after they decided to follow the law in May of 2019. What they are doing goes against PA State law, and is the biggest waste of Lycoming County taxpayer dollars. I have tried to talk to them about training and working together under the law now I will have to wait and see what their filing says.

“Just this week my office has corrected two errors where employees would have been paid out more than would have been proper, according to policy, based on improper information given to employees by the HR department and the Commissioners’ office.”