Iowa Court of Appeals sides with Linn supervisors over Auditor Miller

The Court of Appeals of Iowa on Wednesday sided with the Linn County Supervisors against Linn County Auditor Joel Miller and concluded that the supervisors had the authority to direct the way claims against the county are audited, not the auditor.

The three-judge panel of the appellate court also concluded that the supervisors did not act illegally when they reduced the number of deputy auditors in Miller's office.

In siding with the supervisors, the appellate court affirmed an earlier Linn County District Court decision. Miller initiated the lawsuit in February 2010.

The nub of the legal dispute rested with Miller's belief that he should be able in an elected office with the title "auditor" to conduct internal audits of county government, and so he sought to hire a deputy auditor to concentrate on that kind of work. The supervisors disagreed, arguing that if the county needed such a position, it should be outside the auditor's office not inside it.

The supervisors and Miller have had something of an ongoing dispute over a variety of matters, and Miller's lawsuit represents only one aspect of the dispute.

In 2013, the supervisors have cut Miller's staff by more than half as it has taken over the county's facilities maintenance operation from Miller and has shifted a couple of his information technology staff members to the supervisors' oversight.