Call for audit shows fractured local GOP going into primary
MUNCIE, Ind. — Delaware County Council member Ryan Webb asked the Indiana State Board of Accounts to conduct a forensic audit of the Delaware County commissioners and the Delaware County Auditor's Office.
The request is another indication that the local Republican Party suffers a split between its traditional establishment and a faction that tends to be more populist in nature, represented by sometimes controversial candidates like Webb, who has no trouble breaking ranks with the local GOP's leadership.
Webb has openly been at odds with other members of his party during his first term on county council. He is running for his second four-year term this year.
Webb specifically is at odds with Ed Carroll, the county auditor, who is also the Delaware County Republican Party chairman.
Webb announced his request during the a council meeting on Feb. 27, saying his call for an audit was "due to dozens of complaints I have received over the last couple of months from county employees, department heads, elected officials as well as taxpaying citizens."
Carroll did not respond to repeated requests from The Star Press to comment about Webb's request for an audit.
In a recent letter to the State Board of Accounts, Webb said there has been a "tremendous loss of confidence" in the two departments. In the case of commissioners, Webb cited "questionable uses of taxpayer dollars."
He told the State Board of Accounts there was "chaos" and "failures" in the county auditor's office, which has lost experienced staffers during the past year.
"Since he (Carroll) has been auditor, there have been several long-term employees that have been forced out or that have left due to the hostile work environment in that office," Webb wrote to the State Board of Accounts.
Webb also alleged that ghost employment occurs when county employees leave their offices to attend commissioner and council meetings that don't directly involve them.
"The chaos in the auditor's office is having real-world implications that are affecting not only county employees but taxpaying citizens, as well," Webb told the state.
Delaware Sheriff Tony Skinner recently told The Star Press that a handful of employees in his department did not have federal taxes withheld from their pay by the auditor's office in 2023, and the employees were having to deal with those consequences.
Webb's audit request was sent to Ricci Hofherr, assistant director of county services with the State Board of Accounts.
Staci M. Byrns, government technical assistance and compliance director for counties with the State Board of Accounts responded and asked Webb for more information."Since we are a post audit agency, we can only audit compliance with state and federal laws in addition to our Uniform Compliance Guidelines," Byrns replied to Webb in an email. "With that being said, I would like to ask a few more questions, as to the accusations that were noted in the email:
"1. Ghost Employment — Do you have employee names? Dates, times, and documentation of ghost employment? If so, please send this information for review.
"2. Financial Mismanagement — What does this include? Misappropriation of funds? Is this just in the auditor's office or other departments? Can you provide specific instances which can be reviewed? If so, please send this information for review.
"3. Improper use of taxpayer funds — similar questions as previous, is there a specific instance where there is documentation that can be reviewed? If so, please send this information for review."Any additional information that can be used to substantiate the accusations should be sent for review and then a determination will be made if additional investigation into these allegations will be done."As for the work environment and employee/officials actions, this would not be something that would fall under the scope of audit, so it would need to be handled by management and governance at the county level."
Webb then sent along more details about his complaints concerning the auditor and commissioners.
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"As far as 'Ghost Employment' goes there are several examples of county employees that will sit through both the commissioners meetings (of which there are two a month) & the County Council Meeting (one a month)... every month, even though they are not on either of the agendas and have no business being there," Webb wrote back."While they are there, they are on the clock, yet not doing the work they are getting paid for. This has started becoming more of a problem for various different employees.
"It has been a major issue," Webb wrote. "This has happened both in 2023 and in 2024."
He also alleged that Carroll does his job as local GOP chairman while also in the auditor's office when, Webb alleges, he should be doing auditor's work.
Regarding commissioners, Webb sent a March 13 email to State Board of Accounts that stated that Delaware County Commissioner James King, Delaware County economic developer Brad Bookout and Bookout's associate, Bill Walters, traveled to Vegas for a “guys trips" and then falsely labeled that trip "as an economic development expenditure," Webb alleged.
Webb wrote that that the officials stayed for multiple days in order to go to the “SHOT Show," which Webb called "the biggest gun show in the country."
"They stayed at fancy hotels and label (sic) this trip as economic development, saying they brought back some promising leads," Webb wrote.
Webb said commissioners have taken several trips like this previously, including going to Europe multiple times.
"Ryan doesn't understand," said James King, president of the commissioners, who was on the trip along with Bookout.
King's comments confirmed the Vegas trip.
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The trips are a necessary part of economic development activity, King said, and the county is now attempting to attract an ammunition manufacturer that was represented at the show. Delaware County is in competition for the manufacturing facility with cities in Delaware, South Carolina and Georgia. He declined to give the name of the company on the record at this point.
King said this year's trip to Vegas, the group stayed at The Venetianresort on the Strip at a discounted room rate. The SHOT Show, sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, was held Jan. 23 through Jan. 26 in the Venetian Expo.
King said attendance at such shows have brought other development to Delaware County, such as SRM Concrete, which is leasing a rail spur from the county at Park One/332 industrial park from. The lease is for seven years and provides $3.5 million in revenue.
Webb said commissioners have another trip coming up in June for Washington, D.C., where there will be more opportunities to network with people from other countries looking to do business in the United States.
Commissioner Sherry Riggin said she plans to go on the June trip and participate. She said she usually doesn't make the trips, staying behind to mind the commissioners office.
"It's not a vacation," King said of the economic development trips.
The trips and the networking that goes on can be exhausting, and King said he is usually ready for a vacation when he returns from the economic development trips.
Bookout, whose firm, Augusta Consulting, contracts with Delaware County commissioners for economic development services, has made multiple trips to Italy and other parts of Europe, sometimes along with commissioners James King and Shannon Henry. Augusta also employs Bill Walters as a consultant and Bookout's wife, Lisa, is founder and president of Augusta.
In December 2021, commissioners signed a three-year contract with Augusta Consulting to pay the firm $20,054.28 a month for its economic development work and $6,883 a month for its work providing redevelopment services. The amount equals $323,247.36 a year over a total of three years.
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Numerous projects have been landed in recent years by the county.
Bookout credited the use of personal connections and trips to Europe and elsewhere for landing major economic development projects, including INOX and CANPACK.
Political undertones to Webb's complaint
King is running for re-election this year. He is being opposed by Stephen Brand, president of the Muncie Sanitary District board of directors and a former manufacturing executive. Brand has said the county needs to change the way it pursues economic development and work in greater cooperation with the city.
Bookout, who is running for Delaware County Council at-large as a Republican — the same office to which Webb is seeking re-election this year in the same primary.
Webb has asserted that Bookout, a former Democratic Party county councilman, is running for council as a Republican aligned with other establishment Republicans in an attempt to defeat only him in the primary.
As an at-large council member, Webb has attracted a lot of attention during his term in ways that has alienated many. Most notably, he received national and even international attention when he claimed online that he identified as a Black, female lesbian.
Transgendered people said he was just mocking them.
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Webb later recanted his claims but not until after the storm of controversy placed him on a prime time Fox News program and wire services sent news stories about his claim around the world. Some of his re-election campaign material refers to him as "America's councilman."
Webb said he thinks Bookout has no plans to actually serve on county council, and he is convinced Bookout will resign his candidacy after the primary. Bookout said that wasn't true and that he has never spoken with Webb about his candidacy.
Bookout said that he would be able to legally maintain his job working economic development for the county through Augusta while also serving on county council, and he seems confident of his ability to win on May 7.
"Where I'm at and knowing my numbers," Bookout said, "I don't need to go negative."
He added that he has not done any polling for the race.
In 2012, Bookout became the Democratic nominee for Congress. He lost in the general election that year.
Prior to that, Bookout served two terms on county council as a Democrat and was at one time president of the Delaware County Council.
The Indiana State Board of Accounts appears to be taking Webb's complaint seriously.
On March 21, Ed Wheele, State Board of Accounts director of special investigations, asked Webb for more information to back up his charges.
"I’ve received your referral regarding Delaware County," Wheele wrote. "Can you provide any specific details with respect to the allegations. Specifically pertaining to ghost employment, financial mismanagement, and improper use of taxpayer funds."
Wheele also wrote to Webb that: "The other allegations of retaliatory practices, incompetence and creating a hostile work environment are not areas that would be addressed by the Indiana State Board of Accounts."
Attempts to reach Wheele for comment were unsuccessful last week.
David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. He can be reached at dpenticuff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Webb questions county auditor operations under GOP county chair
