Vigo auditor's answer to state public access counselor due Dec. 21

Dec. 5—The Indiana Public Access Counselor's office has responded to a complaint filed against the Vigo County auditor by a County Council member.

Councilwoman Brenda Wilson on Nov. 29 filed a complaint with the state agency claiming the county auditor will not provide a financial report.

She said she hopes the report can be used to implement a new budget program, one she says can better track budgetary matters and possibly save taxpayers money.

The access counselor's office, in a Dec. 1 letter to Vigo County Auditor Jim Bramble, said under state law the auditor's office as a public agency "must cooperate with the counselor in any investigation or proceeding.

"Therefore, the state access counselor's office must receive a response from the county auditor's office no later than Dec. 21, 2022.

"The Public Access Counselor will issue an advisory opinion within a reasonable amount of time following the date the complaint was received," the notice states.

Wilson advocates for a new cloud-based budget program called ClearGov, which the councilwoman said produces updated budgetary reports, instead of creating spreadsheets that are then placed in thick binders when the council conducts its budgetary process.

Under state law, Bramble said his office at this point is only required to acknowledge it has received the request. And since it was hand-delivered, that has to be done within 24 hours. He said his office has done that.

"I have not had the opportunity yet to determine what, if anything, [Wilson] can have," the auditor said.

Bramble said he must consider whether Wilson's request involves any proprietary information belonging to the vendor of the current software, Low Financial System. He said he also needs to look into security questions, such as codes used by the county.

Bramble said the county paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the current property tax and billing system, which also is integrated with payroll, budget and financials.

Wilson lost the District 2 council seat to Democrat Nancy Allsup in November. Allsup takes office in January.

Howard Greninger can be reached at 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter @TribStarHoward.