Lancaster County Commissioner Matt Schulte says he is exploring what authority the County Board could have to take action against the county treasurer following a critical State Auditor’s report, although Schulte says he is not currently calling for Treasurer Rachel Garver to resign.
Matt Schulte
Schulte made the comments Friday during a news conference organized as part of his re-election campaign. The event was political and was not held on behalf of the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.
The news conference focused on a September 15 report from Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Foley examining the Lancaster County Treasurer’s and County Clerk’s offices. Foley’s office followed that report with a letter to county officials two days later.
Schulte focused primarily on findings involving Garver’s office, including errors in distributions to local taxing entities and accounting errors that produced nearly $1 billion in financial misstatements.
During questioning, Schulte acknowledged that the nearly $1 billion cited in the audit does not represent missing taxpayer money.
“No, money was not lost, but the way we report them and account for them is very important,” Schulte said.
Foley similarly told the Nebraska Examiner that the bulk of the nearly $1 billion involved accounting mistakes rather than embezzlement. Garver has said misstatements in semiannual reports created the appearance of nearly $1 billion in discrepancies and that no taxpayer money was lost. She acknowledged approximately $3 million in payments that were either above or below the amounts due and said errors had been corrected and reconciled, with some overpayments still being returned.
The audit also identified a roughly $1.27 million underpayment to the state involving property tax credit money from 2023 through 2025, along with other distribution and accounting problems. Garver said procedures were corrected and the money was returned to the state.
Schulte raises possible County Board action
The most significant new statement from Schulte Friday came during questions about what accountability could follow the audit.
Schulte said Nebraska law provides circumstances under which a county treasurer can be removed from office and said County Board action is an option that should at least be examined.
“The Lancaster County Board actually has the option to remove a county treasurer,” Schulte said. “That has happened in Sarpy County in the last few years, and so that is an option that we should at least consider.”
However, Schulte stopped short of calling for Garver’s resignation.
“At this point, I am not calling for them to resign,” Schulte said when asked about Garver and former Chief Deputy Treasurer Kristen Anderson. “I think this should be up to the voters.”
Asked whether he would pursue County Board action if Garver remains in office after the election, Schulte said he is “absolutely exploring all opportunities that the county board has to consider this.”
He said further action could become appropriate if subsequent reviews found continuing problems or problems extending into additional years.
The State Auditor has indicated his office intends to return to review the Treasurer’s Office. Foley told the Nebraska Examiner after releasing the audit that, given the magnitude of the findings, taxpayers would expect another review in about a year.
Campaign event includes other county candidates
Friday’s event also featured Landon Parks, a candidate for Lancaster County Clerk of the District Court, and Jasmine Gibson, who is challenging Garver for county treasurer.
Schulte used the event to advocate for Parks and Gibson over Anderson and Garver. Those endorsements were made in Schulte’s capacity as a candidate for re-election and do not represent a position taken by the Lancaster County Board.
Anderson served as chief deputy treasurer during part of the period examined by the Auditor. She has said the financial functions identified in the report were not among her responsibilities, saying her duties primarily involved human resources, workplace culture, contracts and office operations. Parks acknowledged that response during Friday’s news conference, saying he would not speculate about responsibilities he could not verify.
Garver has taken responsibility for problems identified in the audit while disputing characterizations suggesting nearly $1 billion was lost or misallocated. She previously rejected a call from Lancaster County Republican Party Chairman Jack Riggins to resign, saying she had corrected problems and was working on additional procedures. Anderson also rejected Riggins’ call for her to withdraw from the District Court clerk race.
Questions remain about previous years
Schulte also said Friday he believes similar accounting errors occurred in years outside the period examined by the Auditor and welcomed additional reviews. However, he presented no evidence at Friday’s news conference establishing that similar errors occurred year after year, so that remains Schulte’s assertion rather than an audit finding.