The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, during the Monday, Feb. 26 meeting, approved an investigation of the County Auditor’s office after learning of alleged illegal use of a postage meter for political purposes. The approval came after a two-to-one vote, with Supervisor Chris Watts being the lone dissenter.
Supervisor Casey Callanan said County Auditor Adam Wedmore allegedly came in over the weekend and used the county postage meter for a political fundraising mailer regarding his re-election campaign. Callanan said the county’s outside auditor was notified and he advised them that the county was required by Iowa law to notify the state auditor’s office.
Callanan went on to say that the Board of Supervisors could not look into the matter further unless a majority of the board approved such actions. His intention was to have, “… staff engage in the following week to see what options the state auditor has in regards to what other extracurricular activities may or may not be going on down at the Auditor’s office.” He said the residents of the county deserve to know what’s going on in the Auditor’s office.
After the vote to conduct an investigation, Watts was offered the opportunity to re-cast his vote in the matter but refused, saying he was just following the recommendations from the county attorney and the county sheriff not to discuss the matter further until they could look into it.
Due to a conflict of interest the County Attorney’s office referred the investigation to the Iowa Attorney General’s (AG) office who reviewed the case and decided that their office would not prosecute Wedmore for using a county postage meter for political purposes.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said that Adam Wedmore did enter the courthouse and utilized a mail machine to stamp 1,000 pieces of campaign mail on Jan. 27. On Feb. 2, Wedmore sent an email to his finance director stating that he had used the mail machine for non-county purposes and that he intended to reimburse the county for the postage used and he also purchased a replacement ink cartridge for the mail machine. The email was sent after he had been notified of a county supervisor inquiry.
Wedmore presented a check on Feb. 5, drawn on his election account, for $650 to the auditor’s office finance director with a note stating that it was for the mail cost, replacement of ink used, and any electricity used for the operation of the machine. In an interview with law enforcement Wedmore admitted that he should not have used the machine but had always intended to reimburse the county.
Brown said that while they could charge Wedmore with fourth-degree theft and non-felonious misconduct in office, there wasn’t sufficient proof that Wedmore intended to permanently deprive the county of the costs, and that the AG’s office declined to prosecute. Brown also said that Wedmore’s actions and behavior have been reported to the ethics commission that oversees county auditors and that information will be forwarded to the State Auditor’s office for any action warranted by that office.
