Challenger: Miller lawsuit frivolous

CEDAR RAPIDS - Calling Linn County Auditor Joel Miller's lawsuit against county supervisors “frivolous,” Garth Fagerbakke on Tuesday became the fourth candidate - the first Republican - to challenge Miller's re-election.

“I disagree with his management decisions,” said Fagerbakke, the county's construction services manager overseeing its flood-recovery projects. “That led to spending tax dollars unnecessarily.”

“I don't think it's frivolous,” Miller said. “I think there are some very important legal issues to be decided with this lawsuit.”

Miller filed suit against the supervisors in February 2010 after they refused to approve his plan to hire a new deputy auditor to conduct audits of county departments' internal accounts. Miller questions whether the accounts, like others maintained by county department heads across the state to conduct routine business, are legal under state law.

County supervisors approved hiring an outside attorney to represent Miller and later hired another attorney to advise him on routine legal questions, after County Attorney Jerry VanderSanden said it would be a conflict of interest for his own staff to do that work. Miller opposed that move.

Fagerbakke said Miller's disagreement with the supervisors has extended to the heads of other county departments.

“It makes it very difficult for a county government to function when we've got somebody that's creating all this adversity,” he said. “One of the first things I would do is to get on a good working relationship with the rest of the county departments.”

The county has paid Peter Riley, who's representing Miller in his lawsuit, $6,482 through last June, the last time he submitted a bill, Budget Director Dawn Jindrich said. Robert O'Shea, hired to advise Miller during the suit, has billed the county $10,325.

Fagerbakke, 52, of Marion, has worked for the county since 1999, when Miller's predecessor, Linda Langenberg, hired him as facilities manager. Supervisors appointed him to his present post as it became apparent that managing the county's multiple flood-recovery projects would be a full-time job.

Fagerbakke said he supervised the counting of absentee ballots while working in the auditor's office, and his business administration degree from Mount Mercy helps qualify him for the auditor's other duties.

Miller faces two challengers in the June 5 Democratic primary: former County Supervisor Jim Houser and Brian Gradoville, an employee in the county treasurer's office. The deadline for primary filings is today.

Miller said his suit against the supervisors is scheduled for trial in late May.

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