OVER A PROPOSED $315,000 BUDGET MOVE THE SHERIFF SAYS IS RETALIATORY
A legal fight between county officeholders could be on the horizon.
At least one county commissioner wants to remove $315,000 from the sheriff department’s already-appropriated 2026 budget. Platte County Sheriff Erik Holland publicly told commissioners this week that if it happens, he will sue the county commission.
The sheriff says he believes the county commission’s proposed action is retaliatory, being taken in response to a criminal investigation being opened against Scott Fricker, presiding commissioner, recently.
The sheriff’s department recently referred to the Missouri State Highway Patrol a criminal investigation of Fricker for allegedly illegally accessing the email account of Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd. That investigation first came to public light when it was reported by The Landmark on Feb. 25.
At a county commission meeting Monday, Joe Vanover, second district commissioner, said he recently requested county auditor Kevin Robinson to prepare a budget amendment to move $315,000 out of the sheriff’s budget.
Vanover said his request comes after it was discovered the auditor’s office had made a typo in a line inside the sheriff department’s budget. That error had listed $350,000 in a line item for equipment rental when the actual amount should have been $35,000, he said.
The sheriff told the commission the move to take back $315,000 from his already-appropriated budget would be taking place against his wishes, and “I don’t think you have the legal authority to do that.”
During Monday’s meeting when the county auditor requested a date for a public hearing for budget amendments, the sheriff stepped to the podium to ask if Vanover’s proposed move of the $315,000 would be one of the items on the agenda at the April 6 budget amendment hearing.
“We haven’t discussed that yet. We haven’t made a decision about that one way or the other,” Fricker told the sheriff.
Fricker added that the Monday action was just to set the date for the budget amendment hearing.
Vanover said he requested the budget amendment from the sheriff’s department “to correct the typographical error that Kevin Robinson and his office made on the budget.”
Vanover told the sheriff “you’re well aware that the county-approved budget had a line item, I think it was for equipment rental, that should be $35,000 and through a mistake of the auditor’s office, which he has admitted, was $350,000. So my request is to fix that typo.”
The sheriff says if the county commission removes $315,000 from his department’s budget as is being proposed, his department’s total overall budget for 2026 will be roughly $100,000 less than it was in 2025.
“A $315,000 typo is the only reason this commission did not (already) cut my budget by $100,000,” the sheriff said.
“I have said repeatedly you do not have the legal authority to move money out of the budget that has been appropriated based on the scenarios that are before us. And I’ll put you on notice right now, Commissioner Vanover, that if the commission proceeds with something that it has been told repeatedly you don’t have the authority to do you will leave me no choice but to sue the county commission, and I believe the action is retaliatory, and I will notify the attorney general as such,” the sheriff stated.
Vanover responded: “It’s not retaliatory, it will correct an error.”
The sheriff added: “It’s an error you have known about since January that didn’t become an issue until after we did our statutory obligation (regarding the investigation into the accusations against Fricker).”
Vanover: “It became an issue when it was discovered and not recently.”
Sheriff Holland: “There are members of this commission that have said that money can sit there.”
Vanover: “I found this when I was looking for something else in the budget. I found it weeks ago. And I asked the auditor to explain why the equipment rental line was $350,000 and he admitted it was a mistake.”
Sheriff: “There are emails between the commission and I on this topic going back into January and early February. It is not recent.”
Vanover: “Since I became commissioner, the sheriff’s budget has increased dramatically year after year after year. This was a typographical error and I’m requesting that it be fixed. And if you try to keep money that’s not yours then. . .I don’t know what. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there. . .if you want to keep money that you know is based on a typographical error.”
Later in a telephone interview with The Landmark, Holland explained why he feels the proposed action by the county commission is retaliatory in nature.
“I believe it is retaliatory because there has been email correspondence between myself and the commission and the auditor since late January on this. Two of the commissioners (Fricker and Allyson Berberich) previously made statements they were fine with the money remaining in our budget. The move to remove this from our budget did not occur until the investigation of a commissioner (Fricker) came to light,” the sheriff said.
If the county commission removes the money from the sheriff’s budget, that action would come at the April 6 budget amendment hearing.
“Whether I take legal action prior to April 6, I can’t comment. I’ll talk to my counsel,” the sheriff told The Landmark.
CONTENIDO RELACIONADO:
