Letter To The Editor - Richard Smoker speaks out regarding recent decisions and actions by Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost

Published by Jimmy Oldsun, NDRIRSRWRAFTC & Editor

Date:  12/7/2010
Post:  1,248

Hermann Hearsay received an email from Richard Smoker of Hermann late on Monday night.  Smoker is a regular reader and commenter.

Publisher's Notice/Full Disclosure:  Mr. Richard Smoker has been a long-time FREE subscriber to Hermann Hearsay.  Mr. Smoker has no beneficial ownership stake in Hermann Hearsay. Furthermore, Mr. Smoker has no current or past employment relationship with Hermann Hearsay. And in addition to all of the foregoing disclosures, be advised that Mr. Smoker is not related in anyway to any member of Hermann Hearsay ownership, management or staff. And if these disclosures in and of themselves were not enough, it should also be noted that Mr. Smoker has never purchased a lunch or an intoxicating adult beverage for any member of Hermann Hearsay ownership, management, or staff.  In other words, we here at Hermann Hearsay barely know Mr. Smoker. It must be plainly understood that Mr. Smoker speaks entirely for himself in his "Letter to the Letter".

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in Hermann Hearsay "Letters to the Editor" and/or Hermann Hearsay forums or other reader comments are not necessarily those of the ownership, management and/or staff of HermannHearsay.blogspot.com.  We publish this particular "Letter to the Editor" knowing full well that some of our readers will disagree with the content of the letter.  Opposing viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged.

That said, here is Mr. Smoker's letter .....

Dear Mr. Oldsun,

I want to formally express my sincere personal gratitude for the service you provide as Editor of Hermann Hearsay.  I feel you work hard to serve your readers, and you have always been willing to publish letters from your readers as well as their daily comments.

During the course of the past several weeks, I have discussed with you my concerns about the way Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost has handled the shameless requests (demands) by current Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Laimore and former Northern District Associate Commissioner Max Aubuchon for the county to reimburse legal expenses which they incurred as a consequence of defending themselves in the so-called "salary overpayment" lawsuit.

To reiterate my concerns and considered viewpoints for the benefit of your readers .....

1. Presiding Commissioner Jost has decided to reimburse the attorney fees and legal expenses which Messrs. Lairmore and Aubuchon have submitted. I understand that the sum total which Jost intends to reimburse Lairmore and Aubuchon is in excess of $52,000. I have no idea whether these bills have been closely audited, authenticated or verified in any way.  I just know that this is sum total of their requests.
2. The county can ill afford to pay out this amount of money for attorney fees and legal expenses which these two individuals incurred because of their stubborn and arrogant refusal to return back to the county "salary overpayments" which were made to them and subsequently deemed "unconstitutional" by the Missouri Supreme Court.  My understanding is that they were asked to make partial repayment when the mistake was first discovered and that they refused to do so.
3. Former Associate Circuit Judge Cynthia Eckelcamp issued her final ruling and court order on the "salary overpayment" case after her initial ruling was reversed by the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals on a legal technicality as opposed to the merits of the case. The legal technicality was that the "statute of limitations" had been exceeded. It is my understanding that, in her final ruling, Judge Eckelkamp ordered that all parties pay their own legal expenses, court costs and attorney fees. She did not provide for any provision that these expenses might be reimbursed to Lairmore and Aubuchon by Gasconade County or by Santa Claus.
4. In authorizing the payment of these legal bills, Presiding Commissioner Jost acted unilaterally, and I believe in direct violation of RSMo 49.220. There was no 2/3 majority vote by the County Commission to authorize such payment as is normally required by Missouri statute. Commissioner Lairmore was forced to abstain from the vote, because he obviously has a materially and beneficial interest in the outcome of the vote. Commissioner Matt Penning also abstained from the vote on advice of his attorney, presumably for the reason that he also had an interest in the "salary overpayment' lawsuit, being one of the listed plaintiffs in the original complaint against Messrs. Lairmore and Aubuchon.
5. During this past week's County Commission Meeting which was held at the Owensville City Hall on 12/2/2010, Presiding Commissioner Jost signed reimbursement checks for a portion of the legal bills presented to him by Messrs. Lairmore and Aubuchon. In this meeting, Commissioner Penning again appropriately went on record as "abstaining" from the vote to authorize payment of the legal bills. In response, Presiding Commissioner Jost stated that he was authorizing the payments entirely on his own and that he was signing the checks to Messrs. Lairmore and Aubuchon. Presiding Commissioner Jost cited RSMo 49.070 as his legal authority to act on his own in making the payments. I have read this statute, and I have discussed it with other people. None of us believe that this statute applies in this situation. We believe that Presiding Commissioner Jost has acted unilaterally and without proper legal authority. Whoever advised Jost in this matter, and I believe it was Attorney Ivan Schraeder of Camdenton, is either incompetent or incapable of objective impartiality. Furthermore, it is not clear to me that Mr. Schraeder's legal services were properly engaged by the County Commission. My understanding is that you Commissioner Penning did not participate in a vote on this matter during an open and public meeting of the County Commission. Therefore, I believe that Schraeder's services have been illegally contracted for by Gasconade County. I should think this would be a point of great concern for the Prosecuting Attorney of Gasconade County.
6. By and through her direct involvement in preparing the county checks for the Presiding Commissioner's signature and subsequently transmitting said county checks to Lairmore and Aubuchon, I believe that County Clerk Lesa Lietzow may now also be complicit in this illegal act of issuing and transmitting payment from county funds to Messrs. Lairmore and Aubuchon without a proper and legal vote of authorization by the County Commission. Again, I refer you to RSMo 49.220.

Jimmy, it is possible I may have missed some important material point(s) regarding this matter which we have discussed several times during the course of the past two weeks. Hopefully I have been able to summarize it all in a way which is understandable to you and your readers. If you feel I need to clarify something, don't hesitate to request that I do so.

I shudder to think where this situation may lead.  The Presiding Commissioner has acted hastily and without proper legal authority to make payments to his buddies.  This MUST NOT and WILL NOT be allowed to stand!

Respectfully,

Richard Smoker
Hermann, MO



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